


A Working Title: Part One

by IBACULLEN



Series: A Working Title [1]
Category: Twilight (Movies), Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Comedy, Drama, F/M, Romance, Spanking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-02
Updated: 2013-05-12
Packaged: 2017-12-10 05:18:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 65,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/782261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IBACULLEN/pseuds/IBACULLEN
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bella Swan is offered the job of a lifetime. The personal assistant to one Hollywood's biggest A-listers. When she begins to develop feelings for her boss Edward Cullen will she be able to handle all his personal requests or will his domineering behavior cause her to run from her chance at true love. Story will contain, language and themes of domestic discipline including spanking.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** This is my first endeavor on this website. I was recommened this site over on fanfiction.net so I will see how this goes. So far I like the website and hope you will like this story. Thank you.

WARNING:

This story may contain content that could offend readers. Story will surround storylines involving acts of dominance such as domestic discipline. This story will not contain BDSM. This story has will have spanking themes in later chapters. The following story will use mature language This story has already been written and will contain character death in future follow ups. Lemons will not occur right away and not in every chapter this isn't Fifty Shades of fun. Please do not read this story if you think you may be offended by the discussed themes.

Story is mine; the characters are borrowed from Stephenie Meyer

CHAPTER ONE

I had been asked to write my memoir many times before. A great deal of people have offered me a great deal of money in the past for it, not that I blame them I have lived a fairly interesting life. I love my husband and it wasn't till after he passed that I could begin to think about spilling the dirty details of our life together. Many may think it is an insult to his memory, but even though I plan on giving you a very personal insight, I still believe that this will not have been an insult but a tribute of the love we shared. I have changed the names of the people in this story providing what little protection I can to my extended family and friends; however I'm sure that it won't take a genius to put all the puzzle pieces together. Hollywood is full of characters and we just happened to play a few of them.

My name is, well for the purpose of this story, Bella Swan. Just a short time ago I was a nobody, a nobody who became a somebody. My story or should I say my life feels like it all began with a man who for the sake of this story shall be called Edward Cullen.

I was just finishing up college, and within six short months I would have bachelors in Film & Television. My last requirement before I was to acquire my degree was to obtain an internship in my field. I was excited and scared, I knew that I was so close to begin the quest to making my dream come true, but was terrified at the same time. I have always wanted to work in the film world, writing, directing, producing was all I could imagine. The school I went to didn't exactly have a reputation for the area I wanted to work in, it wasn't USC or UCLA where all you have to do is show up and one of the many prestigious alumni would jump at a chance to sponsor you. I knew I was going to have to work my ass off to make myself stand out. My dream would have been to work for Warner Bros. but I decided that maybe finding a smaller production company on the Warner lot could suffice for now.

To this day I say it must have been fate that the production company owned and run by one Edward Cullen decided that this was the year they were going to accept interns. E=MC2 was a company that Academy Award winning director, Emmett McCarty had begun with his best friend Edward Cullen. Edward Cullen! Sexiest Man Alive Edward Cullen, whether he was romancing you with his Smile in the rom com A Beautiful Day, impressing you with his rock hard abs in the prison drama My Last Breath, he managed to make women of all ages sigh. The only thing funny about Edward was that he had yet to settle down with a wife. Normally that wouldn't be all that strange but in Hollywood you were expected to be on your third marriage by 35 and Edward was just pushing 40. He was constantly seen with beautiful women, some even managed to stay around for a time, but it was inevitable that eventually they would move on, with their publicist stating, "They will continue to remain good friends" (insert eye roll)

But I digress; it was my first day at E=MC2, when I met a girl by the name of Angel. At least that's what I call her, since she took pity on my pitiful resume and decided to give me the chance of a lifetime. Angel was so swamped with work she really didn't even give me an interview she just shook my hand walked me into my little cubicle and handed me a mountain of paperwork to file. I didn't care, she could have handed me a dump truck of paperwork and I would have filed every bit of it with a smile on my face. I Bella Swan had managed to secure an internship on the Warner Bros. lot. I used to spend every lunch break I had just walking around trying to steal peaks into different studios, envious and thinking of the day I could be on set. It was about a week later when I saw Emmett McCarty for the first time. He came barreling into the bungalow talking loudly on his cell phone; he went into his office and turned on the television.

"That's bullshit! You need to get your pasty mom jean wearing ass back to LA!"

I froze at my desk, shrinking into the cube. I couldn't tell just who Mr. McCarty was mad at but I was never more thankful for my ability to blend in with my surroundings.

Mr. McCarty began pacing in his office, holding bag of Doritos, gnawing at the chips like they were responsible for his misplaced anger. "Bro, just get over it already, I need you here for the preproduction. You do realize we begin filming in September?"

Angel popped by my desk at that moment handing me a couple of scripts. "Well don't you just looks like a frighten kitty" she chided me as she perched herself upon my desk. "Don't worry honey, he's not really mad, he always talks like this when it's Edward."

Mr. McCarty threw his phone onto his couch and stomped his foot so hard the whole office seemed to shake.

"Well it seems like even grown men are not above tantrums." I can't believe I just said that! Hand meet forehead.

Angel stared at me a couple of seconds and then busted out laughing. Mr. McCarty came out of his office just as my not so Angel ratted me out. "Oh my god! Bella so just called you out on your tantrum, Emmett."

"Bella?" Mr. McCarty's brow furrowed. I have to say he actually looked kinda cute when he was confused.

"Yeah Bella…Bella Swan…the new intern." Silence. Angel smacked him in the arm "remember you said I could hire an intern to help with the overload of work since you and Edward seem to think that this place runs itself all on your pretty little looks." She rolled her eyes.

I still sat in silence, I probably failed to mention this but something weird happens when I meet celebrity's actually it's not as weird as I have learned from my own personal experiences. Most people, mainly girls have one of two reactions when meeting a celebrity, they either A. Squeal like a farm animal and their voice raises an octave, toss in a dose of mild hyperventilation. Or B. they shut down and although their minds are working a mile a minute they lose all ability of processing thoughts into words. I happened to be a B.

Mr. McCarty must have seen my deer in the headlight look and taken pity on me; he grabbed me up by the hand and flew his arms around me squishing me into a tight hug. I would definitely have a bruise tomorrow.

"Careful with the merchandise, Emmett. We don't need a sexual harassment suit right now" Angel fussed.

He let go and stepped back appraising me, I began to stutter like an idiot, "I…I…I.. I would never do that, I'm not that kind of person, in fact you can charge me with sexual harassment if you like" SHUT UP BELLA! STOP TALKING! But it continued, "I mean I'll take complete and total responsibility, Lord knows I've probably done a thousand harassing things at one time or another, I mean maybe even to you and you just don't even know about it. Wait! No, that didn't come out right, what I meant to say is…I'm just going to shut up and die now."

Mr. McCarty who had been staring at me like I was some rabid animal all the sudden barked out a laugh, "Where did you find this girl? Bella Swan welcome to the family I have a feeling that this may be the beginning to a beautiful relationship." He turned to go back to his office and yelled out as he was leaving, "Lunch on me!"

The door closed and I banged my head onto my desk. "Wow, was that some type of medical condition you have there, chronic truthfulness?" Angel laughed. "I tend to get a tad bit nervous around celebrities." I said. "Don't worry about it honey, although I probably should warn you," she lowers her voice, "You kinda picked job where you're going to be surrounded by them." She winked and slid off my desk.

Even though I felt like a first rate idiot, Mr. McCarty was a man of his word and bought lunch that day, in fact he bought lunch nearly every day he was in the office. I can't begin to tell you how much starving college students appreciate a good free meal. I was of course expected to go and fetch said free meal, but in those first couple of months I really did begin to feel like family. In fact it was week two of meeting Mr. McCarty that he summoned me into his office and jokingly went off on me stating that if I called him Mr. McCarty one more time, he would fire me. It had been Emmett ever since.

It was three months into my internship; there was still no sighting of the prominent Mr. Cullen. Angel told me that he was hiding out in the south of France and had no one had any idea when he would come back. At that point it just felt like he may never come in and that was fine with me, I was having a ball with the people in my office.

I was going to pick up lunch one Friday afternoon. "Bella you still haven't left yet, I'm starving over here!" Angel whined.

"Angel you didn't even order anything." Angel had begun to see a weight change so like most people in Hollywood she freaked out and put herself on a strict diet.

"So, I can't eat until you eat, duh. I'm not going to sit around by myself like some hunchback in the bell tower." I started laughing; she's always so funny when she's hungry.

"Calm down there Quasimodo, I'll be right back."

I set off toward the cafeteria to grab my lunch as fast as can be so Angel wouldn't waste away by the time I got back. I made it back within record time and walked into the kitchen with my usual greeting that unfortunately I picked up from Emmett. "What's up bitches" Emmett looked up with a smile on his face and Angel gestured behind me.

"Bella, I like you to meet Edward Cullen." I froze turning slowly around, my face instantly flaming as my eyes took in all 6 feet 1 inches of him. And yes if you're wondering, he did look better in person. When I look back on this moment of meeting Edward I can't help but cringe when I think of what I did next. He was staring at me with a slight smile on his face so I slowly curtsied and then probably realizing just how stupid I looked I dashed out of the room.

I was so mad at myself; I could almost feel the tears building as I quickly exited the office. Why did I have to be such a spaz? I went behind our bungalow which had a small basketball court and started silently yelling into the air, if anyone had been watching they may have thought I was auditioning for a silent movie. As I was contemplating a career change I saw the basketball on the ground, taking out whatever aggression I had I kicked that ball as hard as I could toward the wall.

"Did you just kick my ball?" I whirled around to see Edward Cullen standing there.

I began instantly apologizing, "I'm so sorry sir." I quickly ran over to the basketball, picked it up and with trepidation made my way over to him holding the ball out like some kind of offering to the god like man he was. He instantly stepped back, held his hands up, "I'm not touching that, not after you just kicked all the luck out of it."

Oh great! He just had to be one those kind of celebrities. Most famous people, mainly actors and actresses have this thing with their luck or superstitions. I believe that's due to the fact that at one time they probably had to sell some part of their soul to the devil in exchange for success and any misbalance of luck could land them back down with the rest of us peons.

I began biting my lip, praying that a panic attack was not about to come on.

"Look everyone knows that in order for the luck to be restored, the offender must get the ball in the basket in one shot." He said.

I looked down at the ball and looked at the hoop, I had never been very athletic and it didn't matter if that hoop was 7 feet high or 50 with my lack of coordination I was never going to get that ball in. I saw out of the corner of my eye a shiny silver ladder, with resolve I walked over to the ladder and then stuffed the stupid lucky basketball under my shirt and began to drag this ladder over to the basketball hoop making all kinds of god awful racket. Great I was almost literally jumping through hoops for this man and his crazy lucky balls.

I was half way up the ladder when I realized just how horrible this must look to any passersby, to see this poor pregnant girl climbing up a ladder as manly Mr. Cullen watched on. I think he must have thought the same thing because at that moment he rushed over to where I was. "Alright, alright you can come down now I was only joking."

I was beyond irritated. "No, No Mr. Cullen I wouldn't want to be responsible for you unlucky balls." I huffed I started to pull the ball from out of my shirt trying to maintain balance.

"Isabella that's enough, just drop the ball before you get hurt." He spoke with such authority that normally I would do what I was told; I mean he is my boss after all but something about his little stunt really pissed me off so I continued on. I tipped the ball into the net and climbed back down the ladder. He had his arms folded over his chest and didn't look happy. I raised an eyebrow in a challenging sort of way and then remembering just how quickly this man could squish me like a bug metaphorically and literally, I turned swiftly around and walked back to the office.

Thankfully when I got back to the office it was five o'clock and I could go home, I managed to sneak off to the bus stop without another run in with Mr. Cullen. It wasn't until the long trip home that I could ponder the severity of my actions.


	2. CHAPTER TWO

It had been three weeks since my run in with Mr. Cullen. I was afraid the whole weekend after the "incident" I was going to receive a call stating my services were no longer needed. But nothing happened. Mr. Cullen started coming into the office and we both had taken to just plain ignoring each other. Of course Emmett and Angel picked up on it and kept trying to badger the story out of me, but I remained silent completely embarrassed by my actions.

My college roommate and I met our freshman year at the University when we were assigned to the same dorm room; Angela was one tough chick and me being the sensitive marshmallow I am, we kind of got off to a rocky start. However I credit her for helping me become the person I am today. When I was younger I was teased and bullied a lot. I was overweight my whole life and of course kids latch on to the weight thing pretty young. It wasn't until Angela who was my complete opposite came around and taught me to be stronger mentally and physically. She would make me go running with her and her overly healthy lifestyle really helped me change. Her parents were wealthy enough to pay for her apartment off campus and even though I objected she made me move in with her our senior year. Of course I still paid her rent, it was only fair. Angela loved hearing all my nightmare tales of Hollywood, we would sit around with a bottle of wine and she always managed to make me feel better.

It was Saturday morning and I was sitting around in my pajamas watching cartoons with Angela when the phone rang. It was my mom. Crap. It's not that I didn't like talking with my mom but she had become a little overbearing since I moved out, but it wasn't her fault. You can't blame a parent for any of their actions after they suffer the death of a child. My sister. But I'll go into that later. "Hi mom, how are you?" She began to prattle on about my dad trying to fix the washer. My dad was Sherriff, my mom a kindergarten teacher mostly we were the typical American family. I heard someone beeping through on my other line so I quickly ended the call with my mom and switched over.

"Hi, is Bella there?"

"This is Bella" I still had no idea who it was.

"Hey Bella its Angel, I'm really sorry to do this to you but I have been throwing up all day, I feel like shit. I was supposed to go in the office today and sit in on the budget meeting and take notes, is there any way you could go? It's really important…wait a second." I heard her tossing her cookies, I started to cringe and said, "Well how can I say no to that"

"Very funny Swan! Just you wait till you are in my position" I could tell she was getting irritated so I quickly agreed to the meeting trying to figure out how I was going to make it there on time. After many thanks from Angel, I quickly got dressed asking Angela if she could give me a ride.

My internship for the past four months had mainly consisted of filing and fetching. So I was a tad bit nervous to be sitting in on my first real "Hollywood" meeting. I arrived just in time to walk with Emmett into the board room; we all took our seats flipping through the packet that had the final budget for the movie Emmett was going to be filming starting in September. The movie, "Italian Revenge" was going to be filmed on location in Italy. I had always wanted to go to Europe; I was envious to say the least. The movie was an action/drama and of course Edward was starring in it. Jasper Whitlock and Lauren Mallory had already signed on. Jasper Whitlock had been named People's Sexiest Man Alive in the past. The Hollywood community had always favored him; everyone knew that he was an all-around good guy. Scratch that an all-around sexy good guy. As for Lauren Mallory, stories spread of the difficulties she caused wherever she went. She was married to another actor Tyler Crowley who seemed like a pretty respected guy. Most people never understood what he saw in her, she was fake, rude and just downright mean. Allegedly.

The meeting was well underway when Edward Cullen came sauntering in. I don't know why but it started to bug me that he seemed so apathetic the work the company he started was undertaking. I mean he was the "E" in E=MC2, you think he would care just a little. He would receive billing for not only acting but producing on Italian Revenge, I knew there were many producers out there that just showed up gave some money then paraded around town acting like their job was so taxing, I just never figured he would be one of those people. He sat down, his eyes shot to mine and it almost felt like he could read my thoughts by the chastising look he gave. I quickly refocused on my notes and didn't dare look at him again. After a food and Starbucks run the meeting finally wrapped up around six, I said my farewells and went to leave.

Emmett and Mr. Cullen had agreed to go to dinner at this restaurant across the way from the studio, they were following me past the security gate Emmett talking loudly about the Lakers. I arrived at the bus stop, pulling out my book and fare. Mr. Cullen stopped walking immediately causing Emmett to stumble. "What are you doing?" he asked sternly.

I looked up at him, confused "I'm performing Shakespeare in the park, what does it look like I'm doing?" Normally I am very respectable to my superiors but something about this man made me lose all control of my emotions. However I immediately apologized, "I'm sorry. I'm waiting for my bus."

"At this time of night, don't you know how dangerous that is? Emmett, go ahead and get a table for three Miss Swan is going to be joining us."

"Um, no Miss Swan is not. Miss Swan is going home." I really needed to stop talking about myself in the third person I don't think it helps my case. Emmett smirked trying to contain whatever laughter he had to himself but he turned toward the restaurant and walked on. It wasn't that I didn't want to go out and schmooze with bosses over a cocktail, but I knew the restaurant they were going to and there was no way I was going to be able to even afford the complimentary break sticks.

Mr. Cullen reached out and took my bag, "Isabella stop being so stubborn, we are going for a quick meal after which I will personally escort you to your place of residence." 

He turned to walk toward the restaurant; I quickly caught up to him pulling my purse from his arms. "Excuse me, just because you're my boss, Mr. Cullen does not mean you get to tell me what to do. There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking the bus, people do it all the time, I do it all the time." I saw my bus approaching; "Now if you will excuse me I have a bus to catch."

"Isabella" He was mad.

"It's Bella!" I was madder.

"I'm warning you, don't get on that bus!" He seethed.

"Oh Sir I would love to bend over backwards for you, unfortunately gymnastics has never been in my repertoire. " I huffed flipping around entering the bus. I sat down and watched as the doors closed I have to admit part of me was worried that any minute he'd charge the bus and pull me off it like I was misbehaving toddler.

When I arrived at work Monday morning, I was nervous; I knew there was only so much crap Mr. Cullen would take before I was fired. Could a person be fired from a non-paying job? I had a feeling I was about to find out. When I walked to my cube I could see Angel sitting in a chair inside Mr. Cullen's office, they looked to be a serious conversation. I started up my computer, pulled the files out that needed to be dealt with that day and made my way over to the kitchen to start the coffee. Angel walked in behind me all cheery, "Good morning Bella, how was your weekend." I didn't know what Mr. Cullen had told her about me so I stuck to one word answers. "Good."

"Well Edward wants to see you in his office ASAP." She kindly smiled at me. I instantly became nauseous, my hands became clammy. This was it. I only lasted four months and my dreams were about to be flushed down the toilet because I couldn't play well with others. I walked slowly toward his office staring down at the green carpet reminding me of The Green Mile movie with Tom Hanks, all I needed was someone behind me taunting, "dead girl walking."

Mr. Cullen was on his cell when I approached the door. He waved me in with his finger and mouthed for me to shut the door. "Alright sounds good, I have to go I have a meeting. See you later." He hung up and sat down in his comfy executive chair. 

"Mr. Cullen, I just wanted to take this moment to apologize for my actions Saturday night, I know I was being stubborn, and I promise I will never disrespect you again. If you could just give me a second chance I'm sure that you will be satisfied with my work in the future" 

His interrupted my little rant. "Bella, do you think you're in trouble?" "Um" I know there was a thought forming what it was, wasn't forming fast enough.

"Bella I called you in here, to offer you a job." World stopped spinning, heart stopped pumping. "Angel my personal assistant as you know was supposed to go with me to Italy for the movie shoot. However she came in this morning and unfortunately she will be unable to make it. She and her husband are expecting a baby." ANGEL'S PREGNANT! "I know that you are inexperienced but Angel recommended you for the position and has assured me that she can train you before we leave. We would leave on August 20th and return in January. I have a house in Italy so we would be staying there for the duration of filming, as well as Jasper and his wife Alice and of course Emmett. All your transportation and living costs will be paid; I have a plane so we will be using that. And starting salary is $1000.00 a week. I know that this is a good opportunity and you are an intelligent woman, I'm sure we would work well together."

Staring. Mouth open. Feeling faint. Brain finally catching up to my mouth, "Let me get this straight, you want to pay me a $1000 dollars a week to fly all the way over to Italy in YOUR plane" I started making hand gestures, this couldn't be good, "stay in your house for five months to be your beckon call girl?"

"My personal assistant" he stated. I sat there confused for a time just staring at him, Mr. Cullen slowly started waving a hand in front of my face. It was enough to bring me back to reality. "Are you shittin me? Is this some kind of joke, because it really isn't funny, I know that sometimes you have your moments when you like to prank people. I heard all about it on Access Hollywood, of course you really can't trust their repor." He cut in sensing a filibuster quickly approaching.

"Bella calm down, I am not "shittin" you as you so eloquently put it. This isn't a joke; I swear my intensions are honest."

"Could you excuse me for a minute?" I asked. He gestured to the door; I quickly got up went around the corner to his office and started jumping up and down like a maniac. It was in the middle of my happy dance when I noticed Emmett staring at me from his office. He started roaring with laughter; I scowled at him, collected myself and walked back into Mr. Cullen's office with my head held high. I sat down crossed my legs and looked at him with all the confidence I could muster. "I think I will be able accommodate your request."

"Excellent Miss Swan, we are so pleased you will be able to help us out." I nodded getting up to leave; I was just out the door when Mr. Cullen called after me. "Oh and by the way, I very much enjoyed your little dance." 

I went pale, "…how did…" "You forgot about the mirrors on the opposite wall. Good day Bella." 

I gave him my best "Bella is pissed" face and he started laughing. The next couple of months were going to very interesting, indeed.


	3. CHAPTER THREE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING:
> 
> This story may contain content that could offend readers. Story will surround storylines involving acts of dominance such as domestic discipline. This story will not contain BDSM. This story has will have spanking themes in later chapters. The following story will use mature language. This story has already been written and will contain character death in future follow ups. Lemons will not occur right away and not in every chapter. This isn't Fifty Shades of fun. Please do not read this story if you think you may feel offended by the discussed themes.
> 
> Story is mine; the characters are borrowed from Stephenie Meyer

CHAPTER THREE

Angel got to work right away teaching me all the duties I would be required to fulfill. Mostly it was just keeping track of Mr. Cullen's calendar, making sure he arrived on time to the correct locations, keeping him on task and any other job that arose.

Of course Angela was almost as shocked as I was when I told her of the job offer, she gave me the standard "Bitch" meaning congratulations and I hate you. My parents were also excited and proud of me however you could tell my mom was weary of her whittle girl going half way around the world without the proper adult supervision. At the time I told her I would constantly be surrounded by capable adults who I was sure would protect my damselfly ass from any wrong doing, little did I know just how right I was.

August came and even though I rarely saw Mr. Cullen, Angel assured me that when I showed up at the airport he would be there to greet me. A private car was sent for me at the apartment and we arrived somewhat quickly to the airport. Mr. Cullen's car arrived at the same time and I immediately went into personal assistant mode trying to help him with his suitcases.

"Good morning Mr. Cullen." I greeted. I was shuffling around the many cases trying to steady myself. 

He immediately went to my side lifting the bag from my arms, "Leave the bags Bella, they will be fine. Follow me." 

He started walking at a serious pace; "Mr. Cullen is there anyone else traveling with us?" he immediately stopped. "Bella, we are going to be working together for the next several months, please dear god call me Edward."

"Well I'm not a god, but if you insist, Edward it is." I smiled up at him. He shook his head, smiling and continued onward.

The plane was to say the least amazing, I had never flown first class but I'm pretty sure this one flight would was better than riding first class for the rest of my life. Every chair flattened out to a bed and there were three big screen televisions throughout the cabin. A small kitchen with a microwave, completed with a stocked fridge of alcohol and chocolate. Apparently there was a private bedroom in the back of the plane but I didn't see it. Emmett came barreling on the plane, yelling about peanuts or something. I asked Edward if there was anything I could do but he just told me to relax and enjoy the flight there would be plenty of time to kiss his ass later. I glared at him then flipped around and stalked off to the other side of the plane.

"Bella, you have a little temper don't you?" It was three hours into the flight and Edward sat down across from me with a glass of some type of alcohol in his hand.

"Most of the time no, in fact my roommate would tell you that I'm the most agreeable person on the planet, but for some reason you just bring it out in me."

He thought about that for a moment. "Well maybe we didn't get off on the right foot. I have to apologize for my behavior, lately I have been going through some stuff so I apologize if I have come off as some entitled asshole."

"That's ok. In this business that's an occupational hazard for someone like me." I kidded. "But apology accepted if you will accept my apology for being disagreeable at times."

He all the sudden became very serious, "Bella when we arrive in Italy we will be in Rome, there will be a couple private cars to pick us up and take us to my home on Lake Bracciano. Once we are there I have a couple of cars that we will use to get around as well as going to and from location while we are filming. I know you have your international driver's license but I only want you to drive with supervision of Emmett or myself. Italian roads and drivers can be challenging and I feel this is for the best. The house is on the lake and there is a boat at the dock, which is off limits unless I or Emmett are there. You are more than welcome to use the kitchen or other media rooms, I want you to feel comfortable and at home. There is a small town within walking distance, and of course you are more than welcome to frequent it in your free time. However I only ask that if you are planning to go out that you are back to the house by night fall unless accompanied by someone. Lake Bracciano is a fairly safe place but you are a beautiful young American girl and sometimes the Italian men are known for being a tad bit assertive."

"Thank you Edward for the information and I will try and follow your rules. But I am a grown woman and I'm sure even though I have never been to Italy I am fully capable of handling any situation that presents itself." I was trying to not get upset, but if kind of felt like my mom had just walked in and was already scolding me and treating me like a child. "I will not use your cars except to chauffeur you around and of course I will show the proper respect for your house, but I really don't need to be babysat."

Edward began to get up from his seat, "Oh Bella, you have so much to learn." What the hell did that mean? He swallowed the rest of his drink and quietly laughed and walked away shaking his head.

We arrived in Rome and it was dark, even though I had a taken a nap on the plane I was still tired. We filed into the cars and rode quietly off to our final destination. I really couldn't see anything when we approached the house, there was a lot of shrubbery and a big gate surrounding the property. We drove through and immediately everything was lit up. I will never forget the first time I saw Villa Stellia Mia. You know you're rich when your house has a name. It looked old and majestic the architecture appropriately Italian. With white stones and beautiful balconies I cannot even begin to put into words just the awe I felt looking at it and this was to be my home for the next couple of months.

Edward showed me to my room and said good night, I think we were all tired. I still managed to enjoy the beautiful bedroom even with my fatigue. Beautiful high ceilings with white crown molding, the walls were painted in a sky blue and in the center a queen bed with a white satin comforter. I officially was in heaven. I opened my suitcase, locating my pajamas and toiletries and took off to the connecting bathroom. Even though it was almost three in the morning, I wanted to take a shower. Somehow it just seemed wrong to sleep in that beautiful bed dirty.

The first week, I hung out around the house and walked down to the lake. It wasn't till the first week of September when I became brave enough to go and visit the town nearby and take in the sights. I now understood why Italians were known for having a longer lifespan; I wouldn't want to die either if I lived here. Everything was so peaceful and the Italians took pride in their history and instead of getting rid of a building when it was old they would restore it and celebrate it.

Edward was pretty easy going you could tell just how much this place changed him. We actually started getting along and were getting comfortable joking around with each other. Edward had a childlike quality to him; in fact there were a couple of times I would find Emmett and him running around playing with water guns. The first time it happened it scared the shit out of me as I saw a man dressed head to toe in black, facemask and all skulking around near the window. I would have called 911 if I knew the number for 911 in Italy. But Emmett made his intensions pretty clear when he blasted Edward who just so happen to be standing behind me with a violent stream of water. I was of course an innocent bystander.

I walked into town late one afternoon, I had always heard about gelato, Italian ice cream. I located a cute little place with table and chairs outside. I bought a couple of scoops and sat down looking upon the lake. A man walked up, he had on dark sunglasses and he boy was he cute. He had light brown hair and was about six foot, built with a strong chest and arms.

"Ciao bella." He said with a sly smile.

"How did you know my name?" I started looking around wondering if someone had put him up to this.

"Your name is Bella? What a coincidence. Ciao bella in English means hello beautiful." He laughed and sat down at my table.

"I'm sorry I knew that. I guess it just caught me off guard." He smiled at me extended his hand, "I'm James." He kissed my hand and I immediately blushed. I never had a boyfriend before and that was due to the fact I was awkward around boys. Awkward around boys, celebrities and apparently anything with a pulse.

"So Bella do you live around here?" I knew better then to tell a complete stranger that I was currently living with the famous Edward Cullen, so I remained elusive. "I'm visiting with friends for the season. I just arrived a few days ago."

"Oh well then perhaps I should show you around, I'm from New York originally but I have a house nearby and I visit often. I know a thing or two about Italy's secrets." His eyes bore into mine, 

I was momentarily overwhelmed. Trying to remain composure, "That would be lovely. I would love to take you up on that sometime. Although I probably should tell you that I will be helping my friends out during the week while I am here and the weekends are the only time I will be available."

He thought for a moment and proceeded, "Well how about next Saturday, we can meet here and I'll show you around the town. I know all the best places to eat and I can even take you up the Castle it has the best views. Can we say meet around noon?"

I don't know if it was the Italian air but the giddy school girl in me was jumping up and down. Here sat a beautiful man who seemed to be interested in ME! Of course there was a small part of me that questioned whether or not this was a smart move, but I justified it by telling myself that everything we would do was to be in public. I nodded my head affirming the time for the day. 

"Yes noon would be great. I'm sorry I need to get back to my friends." It was beginning to get a little dark and as much as I would like to throw out Edward's rules about supervision after dark, part of me felt that maybe I shouldn't push him within my first official week of employment.

When I got back to the house, I could hear people talking in the main television room. I shyly approached trying to not make my presence known. I could see Edward walking around with a bottle of wine filling up his guests glasses. His guests happened to be Jasper and Alice Whitlock. Damn the nerves started kicking in; I slowly backed up deciding it would be best to go to my room. As I turned to leave I bumped into a damn end table knocking a silver platter to the floor. The racket echoed throughout the house. I ran over to the offending platter, quickly picking it up and turning to sprint up the stairs. Of course the whole party gathered to seek me out just as my foot landed on the first step.

"Bella." Edward called out to me.

Shit. I slowly turned, "Sorry" I said embarrassed.

He gave me a knowing smile, "Well you're just in time, Bella I'd like you to meet Jasper Whitlock and his wife Alice. They just arrived. You may proceed to curtsy." He gave me a toothy grin, and he was lucky that looks could not kill. Jasper gave him a confused look. Emmett looked like a show was just about to start. 

"Ha Ha you're so witty." I rolled my eyes and looked to the Whitlock's. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Whitlock."

"Hi Bella, I'm so happy you're here it will be nice to not be the only girl for once." Alice sang.

"Hey hey hey I've brought girls around here before." Emmett said.

"She didn't mean one of your many conquests Emmett. And just so you know my house is not to be used as your no tell motel." Edward huffed. "Bella join us for a glass of wine, we were all just talking."

We all made our way back into the living room; I sat down on the couch near Alice. She seemed really nice and from what the gossip mags said, she had a heart of gold. Alice was also an actress; she got her start in television and had managed to transition gracefully into movies. Mostly romantic comedies but lately she branched out to small independent films mostly likely trying to procure an academy award. She smiled at me like I was her brand new shiny toy, it kinda creeped me out. "So Bella, what did you do today?" she asked.

"I finally went into town and got my first gelato." I answered.

"Did you enjoy yourself, Bella? Didn't get lost did you?" Edward teased.

"No, in fact I found adult supervision today." I mused. Take that Cullen!

"Adult supervision?" it was the first time Jasper spoke.

"Yes, Edward feels that I'm a target for the many Italian vampires that could attack." I was smug. This couldn't be good. Come on girl ACT PROFESSIONAL!

"So who is the lucky adult that will be supervising you?" Edward asked. I felt a trap coming on.

"His name is James, he has a home nearby." Metaphorically walking with caution.

"Hmm you met a stranger who wants to take you around." He made quotation fingers for take you around part.

"I'm not naive; I plan on keeping it very public." I snapped. "He's taking me to a local restaurant and up to the castle."

"It's been less than a week and you've already fallen for the Italian charm. Not naïve? I know many intelligent women who get into cars with complete strangers." He rolled his eyes.

"He's not Italian, he's a New Yorker." Leave it to me to find the thinnest argument ever.

Sensing victory, "well then by all means, everyone knows you can't find a dangerous person in New York."

"You're not my father" could I be anymore pathetic the only thing that could make that statement worse was if I had pig tails and a trembling bottom lip. "I may seek company with whomever I choose. As long as I continue to perform all my duties then this is none of your concern." I jumped up from the couch and like the over hormonal teenager I apparently had become I stomped off to my room.


	4. CHAPTER FOUR

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING:
> 
> This story may contain content that could offend readers. Story will surround storylines involving acts of dominance such as domestic discipline. This story will not contain BDSM. This story has will have spanking themes in later chapters. The following story will use mature language. This story has already been written and will contain character death in future follow ups. Lemons will not occur right away and not in every chapter this isn't Fifty Shades of fun. Please do not read this story if you think you may feel offended by the discussed themes.
> 
> Story is mine; the characters are borrowed from Stephenie Meyer.

CHAPTER FOUR

I crept down the stairs the next morning, hoping I could avoid Edward. I slyly peaked around each corner till I managed to make it to the kitchen. The plan had been to steal a banana and head out the back door toward the lake, but just as the first part of the plan was underway, Alice made me jump a mile in the air, "Whatcha doin?"

"Jesus Alice, you scared the shit out of me." I was clutching my chest. She just laughed. "Well if you are creeping around here because of Edward, you have nothing to worry about. He went out early this morning with Jasper."

"Oh..I wasn't creeping." I defended.

Alice gave me a look, "Sure. Anyway why don't you bust out some eggs and make us an omelet, I would do it but Jasper doesn't want me being around open flames." 

Either she just didn't want to make breakfast or Jasper was a tad bit controlling. From everything I heard of the man, I tended to believe that Alice was just being lazy, but I got started on the omelet like madam had requested mostly because I was really hungry since I hadn't eaten dinner the night before.

Alice perched herself up on the bar stool flipping through an Italian Vogue. "Oh and by the way, about last night, you go gurl!" I looked up, sensing my confusion she continued on, "I have a feeling Edward's got his work cut out with you." She started giggling.

"Well thanks? But there really isn't any issue with us, he just needs to learn that even though he is almost twice my age, that doesn't give him this authority over my personal life." I confidently stated.

"Bella I have a feeling you and I are going to be best of friends. " She smiled warmly at me and part of me wanted to sincerely believe her but other part of me said she's an actress , she is built to display emotions whether fake or not. Only time would tell. All I could really offer at that moment was a smile and nod.

After breakfast, Alice sat me down in front of the T.V. to watch Italy's Next Top Model. I had never even watched America's Next Top Model, mainly because Tyra Banks was a bit annoying but damn if not two episodes in I was hooked, and the show wasn't even in English. Alice and I talked about superficial things why she held down my foot and gave me a "much needed pedi" her words not mine. I told her that sometimes a girl has to eat and must forgo the mani/pedi combo. You would have thought I told her that I loved to boil kittens with the look I received. Thinking back on it maybe she would have been happier if I boiled kittens as long as my toes were up to par while I did it.

It was three o'clock when the boys arrived back to the house. Alice immediately jumped up from the couch and skipped over to Jasper earning a kiss. He whispered in her ear, she looked down and shook her head, he said something quietly to her, kissed her forehead and she left. Jasper went to the patio out back and made a phone call, I was trying to not be so nosey but it was hard from where I was sitting. I turned back to the T.V. purposely avoiding Edward who stood near the kitchen drinking a glass of water.

I could feel his eyes on me but I refused to look over. Finally he came over and sat in the chair opposite me he had a bag in his hand, "Bella I need to talk to you about last night. I'm not your father." He mumbled under his breath "thank god" then added, "But that doesn't mean I don't care about your well-being. I need you to understand that just because I worry about your safety doesn't automatically make me the bad guy. If something happened to you, I would never forgive myself, which is why I got you this." He presented me with a phone. "It will work here in Italy and I've already programmed in some phone numbers just in case." He looked me sternly in the eye. "Bella I know you can be stubborn but please, use it. Call me or Emmett or anyone if something happens never hesitate."

I don't know what this feeling was. I had been fighting for so long to prove that I wasn't my sister that sometimes it came off as close minded and hard headed. In that moment when he said those words it was like I could see desperation in his eyes, there was something else there, what I couldn't make out. But I had been a brat long enough and I needed to accept his offer without giving him shit for it. "Thank you, Edward. I promise to use it. That was very kind of you."

He let a breath out that I think he had been holding. To break up the tension I decided to ask where Alice went. "I wonder where Alice is."

"I think she's up napping, Jasper feels that's its best that she tries to nap for an hour every day."

"Ok…isn't that kinda weird." I replied.

"I think you'd find napping therapeutic, they say that a nap every day allows for better concentration, alertness and overall a healthier disposition." He smiled at me, almost like he knew something and wasn't planning on sharing with the class.

"You know what I find therapeutic? Being on set. It's the greatest feeling in the world."

Edward appraised me for a moment, "You really love filmmaking that much?"

"It's all I have thought about since I was eleven. When I was in college every time I had a bad day I would drive out to Warner Bros and park across the street and it always made me feel better. I would think about my future and no matter what was going wrong in my life; I'd just the hope for a better tomorrow inside that studio and it would give me the strength to go on." I was amazed with myself for confessing something so personal to him.

"What if I made you a deal, you love being on set, but what exactly do you want to learn?"

"Everything! I want to learn every position from makeup and wardrobe to grips and gaffers, I believe if a person can learn the ins and outs of every position then that person can be indispensable. I want to be a valuable commodity." I became a tad bit excited when I talked about the things I love. I just hope I wasn't drooling.

"Alright, here's the deal, next week we begin filming, and I will give you permission to rub elbows with the crew, learn all you can. I am very low-maintenance during filming so you don't need to waste your time dealing with me you can use your time wisely. You can help but not get in the way of any working professional and only if they give you permission and nothing dangerous. Consider yourself a really well rounded production assistant. What would you give up for that?"

"Anything!" Here is a lesson any person should learn, when dealing with your emotions think before you speak, don't offer yourself up on a platter like a Thanksgiving turkey. "I mean I might be open for a proposition."

Edward smiled out of the side of his mouth. "I think you'll find my offer very fair. For my blessing all I ask is an hour from you every day, every single day, and the hour of my choosing." He was tap dancing around dying for the shoe to drop. An hour? An hour to do what? I think he could tell my mind was headed in a way different direction then what he wanted. Edward spoke almost immediately to stop the wild thoughts invading my mind. "Bella, get you mind out of the gutter."

"My mind wasn't in a gutter." I said slightly more outraged then necessary. "It just sounds weird, your proposition, are you sure YOUR mind isn't in some gutter."

"Really Bella?" He gave me a knowing look and continued on with his proposition. "I want you to take a nap, once a day for at least an hour. I think you of all people could benefit from it. Maybe then you wouldn't be so …moody."

"A nap!" Such a simple request and yet so so odd. "I don't get it."

"What's there to get." Edward asked, "you get an hour of rest, thus vastly improving your mood or at the very least if that doesn't work I get an hour of peace knowing you are upstairs in your bed, safe and not roaming the streets picking up random strangers."

"Oh my god! You are never going to let that drop." I smacked him in the arm, normally I wouldn't be so forward but he was laughing like school boy. "Whatever, Mr. Creepy I mean Mr. Cullen. Do I have your word, complete total access on set in exchange for one hour of my day counting sheep?"

"Absolutely Miss Stubborn, I mean Miss Swan." He joked.

I felt like I was definitely getting the better end of this deal, but a part of me knew that it couldn't be this easy. There was one thing I was quickly learning from this industry and that was things were not always what they seemed.

After our chat, Edward told me that he was planning on making pizza for dinner. Since we had arrived, Edward had cooked most of the meals surprisingly enough. He was really good at it to, in some ways looking back on it; I think cooking was his therapy.

When he told me he was making pizza, I asked him if it was Digiorno. I think he was actually offended and then told me that my butt was to be in the kitchen at five so I could watch the master at work.

My hands were currently covered in flour and I was proud that I managed to stay clean. He began to inform me about the dough. "So once we roll this dough out, we toss it." He said picking up the cold goo, he pretended to get ready to throw it in the air and I watch with awe, when he picked up some flour with the other hand and tossed it in my face.

I stared at him in shock, "Awe come on man, you just go my shirt and hair all dirty."

"Oh Bella there was no way you were going to stay clean. The pizza tastes better the messier you get while making it."

"Somehow, I doubt that, it's all fun and games till someone's hair ends up in the crust." He started laughing, "I'm serious I could get the board of health down here and give your little restaurant an "F" God only knows what other codes you are currently in violation of."

"Bella! Shut up!" He then flicked some water in my face. That was it; he wasn't the only one who could get a laugh. I grabbed a fistful of flour and threw it at his head. "There now it matches all the other white hairs you've got going on." He immediately charged me and we were wrestling back and forth, "I do not have gray hairs." He managed to get me in a head lock when we heard someone clearing their throat. We looked up to see Emmett, Jasper and Alice all looking at us in shock. We immediately released each other.

"What?" I asked like what they witnessed was an everyday occurrence.

"Yeah…I think we are going out for dinner tonight, the kitchen's not looking to sanitary at the moment." Alice reprimanded.

They left and we slowly looked around our eyes landing on each other, we busted up laughing. "Come on Snow white, let's finish the job. You should see yourself right now." Edward said.

"Oh I can't possibly look any worse then you Father Time. I'm pretty lethal with flour." I replied smugly.

We cleaned up as best we could and continued on with the pizza, while it was baking in the oven with both ran up to our rooms to get cleaned up. By 7 pm we sat down in front of the T.V. with our masterpiece. Edward left to go get the wine leaving me in charge of picking out the movie a decision I'm sure he will come to regret. I couldn't contain the smile on my face as I waited for him, when he approached he immediately knew a plot was afoot.

Looking down at the pizza he asked, "What did you do?"

"You'll see." I gave him a big smile. He cautiously took a bit of his pizza, waiting for me to spill.

"Oh geez Edward, I didn't poison your pizza, although I'm pretty sure you're going to wish I had when you see what's on the viewing menu this evening." I pressed play on the remote and the music started up.

"NO! No No No, absolutely no we are not watching this!" he was adamant. "Come on Bella make it stop." He pleaded.

"Why Edward? I just happen to love this movie. Besides if you hate it that much why do you have a copy of it?" While rifling through Edwards rather extensive collection, I managed to find this really bad 80's movie in which he starred as man who was banker by day and superhero by night. The wardrobe down to the low budget special effects made this movie a classic flop.

Edward popped on screen right then holding a criminal in his hands looking at the camera he stated, "Don't mess with me, I'm Draco Danger." I busted into a fit of giggles.

Edward sat back down, "If this is what makes you happy, I guess I can suffer through it."

We continued to watch the movie, Edward filing me in with fun facts. It was half way through when Emmett came in and saw what we were watching.

"Awesome! You found it, start that shit over."

Edward looked at him shocked, "You put that movie here?"

Emmett had a big smile on his face, like he just won Miss America, "About time you found it. Dude I mean it, start it over."

"Absolutely not, I don't plan on watching this for at least another twenty years. You can take the DVD up to your room when this is finished and watch it there." Edward said.

"Alright but I can't promise you that my intensions with the DVD will be pure without your supervision." He joked.

"That's so gross Emmett" I said, "My pizza is beginning to make a round trip flight."

Edward and Emmett continued to razz each other, I don't know if it was the wine, but when I left them for the night they were both laughing so hard they were crying. You couldn't even make out what they were saying.

I went up to my room for the night and got ready for bed. I decided that I should email my mother since it had been a couple of days since the last time I wrote her. I knew I would have to break down and buy a calling card but that could wait.

Dear Mom and Daddy,

Italy is so wonderful; I would love to bring you here someday. I think you would really appreciate the scenery mom (hot half naked Italian men everywhere.) And don't worry dad I haven't forgotten you either, the food here is delicious and I know you would fall in love with the gelato as I have. Mr. Cullen and Mr. McCarty are treating me well and we are all having such a great time. Jasper and his wife Alice Whitlock arrived recently and they are both really nice as well. I know you both worry about me but I promise I am fine. I am soaking up this experience and I know that it is the first step on my road to success. 

Love you lots,

Bella

P.S. We begin filming next week so I might not get to write you as often, please don't freak out, if anything happens Edward has my in case of emergency information and will contact you.

All I need is my mom not to hear from me and fly all the way over here.

I took out my journal to put some thoughts down. I wasn't really one for writing down what happened day to day, but mostly I used it to write emotions or clever lines. Sometimes I would take those thoughts and try to write music to them. No one really knew this about me, but growing up it was a way to cope from all the pain I experienced. Whether it was from being bullied or having to deal with my sister's death, all these emotions I poured into song writing.

These journals were my lifeline something I continued with for many years and when I was just turning fifty as a favor for a friend I gave one of my most personal journals to be put up for auction, the proceeds to go and benefit a very personal worthy cause.


	5. CHAPTER FIVE

On Saturday, I woke up extra early, to try and get out of the house before Edward could make fun of me for my play date with James. I left him a quick note that I was planning on going into town before meeting with James and that my phone was on hand.

I spent the morning walking around going into all the shops admiring them for the goods. The bakeries were my favorite; everything was delicate and drizzled with chocolate or various fruit sauces. At 11:45 I made my way down to the gelateria like James and I had agreed upon. He was already there dressed very casual, sporting his usual dark shades. I had worn a comfortable dress which I began to think was a mistake when I saw him leaning against a Moped.

"Good afternoon, beautiful Bella." He greeted me.

"Hello, thank you for showing me around today." I said shyly.

"It's I who should be thanking you. It's one of my many pleasures showing people the place I love so much. Shall we get going?" he asked.

"I didn't know we'd be traveling this way, maybe I should go get changed." I was pondering the very idea of me getting on and off this contraception with grace, and my odds were not so good.

"Don't you worry; nothing will happen while you are in my company. Come here." I walked over anxious and he placed a helmet on my head stating safety first. Maybe Edward would get along well with this man after all. He helped me on and then sat down in front of me sitting on my dress to make sure it wouldn't fly up.

Who knew one would have so much fun on a Moped, I may have to think about getting one when I got back to L.A. With my new job I would definitely be able to afford it. We spent the day riding around up and down the hills near Lake Bracciano. It was truly magical. Around four we arrived at this small bistro for a bite to eat. James insisted on educating me on the different wines of Italy. I had never been a big drinker, but I could tell the wine was making me braver.

After our meal, I was feeling a bit tipsy, but James stated that the night just began. He wanted to take me to a small club/ bar that evening. I told him I would have to go home and change first. He was hesitant to drop me off but I assured him I would be back by nine. He gave me a brief kiss on the lips and made me promise I'd return.

I walked into the house a sense of euphoria overwhelming me; I was feeling a thousand things and didn't know even where to begin. Of course that would have to wait for later since Edward was sitting in the front room reading.

"You're back; I was just starting to get worried." Edward let out a breath.

I smiled over to him, "Yes, just for an hour or so, we are going out to this club nearby tonight."

"A club?" he questioned, "Did you fulfill your end of the proposition today?" CRAP.

"No" I quietly said with my head down, damn now I knew how Alice felt. I tried to recover as best as I could. "But I'll give you two hours tomorrow."

"That's not good enough, the rules state one hour every day. You may go now, if you wish."

"Ah come on, I have to be back by nine, if I go now I'll never have enough time to get ready." I pleaded. I knew this nap thing was going to bite me in the ass.

"Have you been drinking?" he came close to me.

"So, I drink with you all the time." Now I was getting irritated.

He could tell I was getting pissed, I think he was trying to reign in his anger to. "You owe me an hour or the deals off, take it or leave it."

I huffed and began stomping up the stairs, I may like James but there was no way I was about to throw away my future for him. Hopefully he wouldn't mind me being a tad bit late. I set my alarm for one hour, threw myself on the bed. As soon as I laid down the room felt like it was spinning. Wow maybe I did have more to drink then I realized. Even though I was feeling slightly dizzy it didn't stop me from thinking about how pissed off I was at Edward that moment. I mean, who did he think he was, I knew that it was my job to take orders from my boss but since I had started working for Edward, none of these orders felt like they were business related. I was definitely going to have a talk with him.

I had just started to fall asleep when my alarm went off. I got out of bed slowly now feeling a bit groggy and headed to the bathroom. It was 8:50 pm; great there was no way I was going to make it with the extreme case of smeared makeup and bed head I was going to have to wrestle with.

I worked as quickly as possible, threw on a cute black dress, gave myself one last spritz of perfume and ran out of my room. I didn't see anyone around when I got downstairs which was probably a good thing. I was definitely not one to be trifled with at the moment.

I managed to make it to James at 9:20; I could tell he had just about given up. "I thought you weren't going to show." He sounded irritated.

"I'm sorry my roommate was being an asshole, if you want to cancel I understand."

"That's ok, you owe me one." He stated. Owe him what? Hasn't he ever heard girls sometimes take their sweet ass time to get ready? I knew I was misdirecting my anger at him so I paused for a moment and continued on. "You ready?"

We arrived at the dance club, and it was really intense. The music was loud and oddly enough they were playing American pop songs. I told James I had to go to the bathroom, which was one thing I left out in order to make it to him. When I came back James already had a small high table and on it were a couple of shots.

"Alright Bella, since you kept me waiting, we have to make up for lost time." He picked up a shot and slammed it. I picked up mine inspecting it, I was a light weight and I was a tad bit nervous of how this was going to affect me. What the hell, you only live once right? I slammed the shot, the liquid instantly burning my throat as it traveled to my stomach. I don't think I'll do that again.

"Alright Bella, one more shot then I let you choose the next round." James was pressuring me big time and I was about to tell him no, when my eye caught something in the corner. Sitting in the dark corner was Edward and Emmett. Emmett with his back to me, talking animatedly with his hands flying through the air and Edward staring at me. I looked directly at him and slammed the next shot and pulled James to the dance floor.

I was really starting to feel good, dancing close to James I could feel his hot breath on me, he grabbed my hips and brought them to his front. He started grinding on me, and slowly nibbling my neck. I was really starting to feel hazy; James brought a glass to my mouth, whispering for me to drink. When did he get another drink? I turned around and his lips instantly landed on mine, his tongue pushing into my mouth. Whoa calm down there buddy, if his tongue went any further in my mouth I was going to choke on it.

The music changed to something really upbeat, we started dancing so fast, everything was going so fast. James yelled in my ear trying to make me hear him over the music. He was going to get more drinks. I was drunk once in college, Angela managed to ambush me and we spent the night drinking. I don't really remember much from that night; other then I think there was a scandalous case of ding dong ditching involved. Yeah we were real party animals. But now it felt like all my inhibitions were gone and I could just dance like a crazed monster and not care what anyone thought. A guy came up to me and picked up where James left off, oh that's right James. He had been gone for a bit, I wonder where he went. New guy just grabbed my ass; wow never had that happen before. Italian men were really liking the Bella.

I started laughing out loud at my own thoughts. I felt a hand on my shoulder, pulling me. "Hey man back off! I was here first." The new guy was talking to someone behind me, the person pulling at my shoulder. "No I was here first, let her go." I turned to see Edward. The guy instantly stop touching me and walked away. "What are you doing?" I asked.

"Come on Bella, it's time to go." Edward took my hand and started pulling me to the exit. I tried to pull my hand from out his grasp but he just kept squeezing tighter. I kept yelling his name trying to get him to stop but he wasn't listening. When we arrived outside, Emmett was there waiting.

"Edward let me go!" he kept ignoring me so instantly dropped to the ground becoming dead weight. He let go of my hand. "Get up Isabella."

I looked up at him; this was not good I was having trouble focusing on his face.

"I feel tired, Edward can I have my nap now?" I started to giggle while laying my head down on the nearby curb. Edward squatted down next to me, "Isabella, you need to get up." I could hear crickets chirping; no really I could hear actual crickets chirping. "Bella if you don't get up, I will be forced to carry you." I was so tired and my stomach started hurting.

"What should we do?" Emmett asked.

"Here take this." Edward handed my purse over to Emmett; he leaned down picking me up like a rag doll and throwing me over his shoulder. It's funny the only thing I could think about on that walk home was how strong Edward was. I was no skinny Minnie and yet he lifted me up like I was no heavier than a sack of potatoes. I have to admit it was kinda hot. There was an odd feeling in my stomach, was I having feelings for my boss? No, nope the feeling was definitely something else. "PUT ME DOWN" I yelled.

"We're almost home, Bella." Edward said back to me.

"No, I'm starting to not feel…" and then it happened. There are moments in your life that no matter how long ago they happened, just thinking about it makes you cringe.

The great thing about vomiting is that once you start you don't stop till your stomach feels like it. Did I say great thing? But where were we, oh yeah I had just blown chunks all over my boss/Sexiest Man Alive back.

I instantly started crying as Edward pulled me down from off his shoulder. He laid me down gently on the grass, which was far better than I deserved. If anyone had ever thrown up on me while I was carrying them I might toss them in the lake.

"Dude that was awesome!" I could hear Emmett's booming voice.

"Shut up, Emmett!" Edward shouted. He shrugged off his jacket and tossed it aside. His jacket and possibly his shoes got the worst of it. He got down on the ground, took my face in his hand, "I'm so sorry Edward." I managed to blubber out, tears were littering my face. If you had looked up the term "hot mess" in the dictionary my picture would be there as a reference.

Edward pulled me into a hug and began to hold me. It was then I realized we had taken the lake path to get to his house and we managed to make it to his backyard.

"Please don't fire me. Oh god I'll do anything." I started groveling. My breathing was coming on fast.

"Calm down Bella, I'm not going to fire you. You need to calm down honey or you're going to make yourself sick again." He was rubbing my back in a circular motion.

"I'm going to help you stand and then we are going to walk to the house, we are almost there. I want you to stop me if you start to feel sick again." Edward got to his feet and pulled me up; it was in that moment I felt just how inebriated I was. I couldn't even stand on my own without falling over.

With Edward's help I managed to make it to the house, albeit going at a snail like pace. We ever so slowly climbed to stairs toward my bedroom; I began to feel that lovely nauseous feeling. There was no way I was going to throw up all over his beautiful carpet, so I hightailed it to my bathroom managing to barely make the toilet.

I felt Edward come up behind me and gently pull my hair out of the way. I laid my head down on the toilet seat and of course like many a drunk person before me I started spewing out all the standard clichés. "I'll never drink again." "Make it stop." "Just let me die."

Edward got up went over to the shower and turned it on. He pulled my shoes off and helped me up again walking me toward the shower, I put the brakes on as I realized what he was about to do. "I'm still dressed, I can't go in there."

"Bella no offense but you have vomit splattered all over your clothes, just get in the shower try to wash off as much as possible." He sat me down on the stone bench in the shower, an asset that I fell in love with the first time I needed to shave my legs.

"Bella I'm going to run over to my room and change real quick. When I get back I'm going to yell for you to make sure you're ok. Once you're done, I'll hand you your clothes through a crack in the door. Please try to wash up and best you can." He left and I just sat there, exhausted.

I had no idea why Edward was being so nice; I mean he could have fired me for what I did. I felt like a world class jerk. Why did I have to drink so much? Oh that's right, James. James! I had completely forgotten about him. Crap. He probably hates me now, thinking I ditched him. It wasn't his fault that I was such a light weight drinker. I don't even have a way to contact him. Trying to maintain a love life while working sucks!

Edward returned a couple moments later like he promised and continued to follow through on his plan. Let me tell you getting dressed while tipsy is hard. I climbed into bed and Edward tucked me in.

"I'm going to place this trash can next to your bed, if you should need to throw up again during the night." I wanted to tell him how grateful I was that he was here, but I was so tired I knocked out pretty quick as soon as my head hit the pillow. I didn't even notice that Edward had set himself up on my big chair and hassock in the corner till the next morning.


	6. CHAPTER SIX

By the time the sun started shining through my bedroom window the next morning, all I could feel was a massive headache. I slowly opened one eye, stinging from the harsh sun it seemed that God had turned the volume up on it today. Alice came bouncing into my room, with far more energy than should be legal on a Sunday morning.

"Morning Bella, did someone enjoy their date with the porcelain god last night?" she laughed.

"Alice I know that you have more power in your one little pinky in Hollywood then I have in my whole body. I like to take this moment to remind you we're not in Hollywood anymore Toto, so don't make me kick your ass." Damn I was crabby.

"Calm your ass down Dorothy. Does this look like the face of mangy mutt, I am definitely a Glinda." She gave me a twist of her head that told me Alice could have been ghetto in a past life.

"I'm sorry Alice, I just feel like someone just took the biggest shit in history and I was the product from it." I was afraid to ask but I knew I had to, "How's Edward?"

She jumped up on my bed. "He's fine, I think its Emmett you have to worry about." She made a face. Alright add him to the list of people I never want to see again after last night.

"Edwards making you a hangover cure as we speak, he knows that once we start filming tomorrow you'll want to be up to par." She all the sudden became very quiet, "Edward cares for you, you know that right."

"Alice after last night, I'm just glad he cares enough not to fire me. God it was so humiliating." I don't know why but tears started to brim. Maybe it was because I really did want to make something of myself and now all Edward would think when he saw me was the assistant who threw up on him. Or maybe it was the fact that in my first couple of weeks away from my parents I showed a complete lack of maturity. Who was I kidding, I was becoming just like my sister.

"It's going to be ok, I happen to know that you are surrounded by many people who love and care about you. In fact, I personally declare that last night will forever be ripped from the pages of your life." She looked triumphant, possibly delusional but with actors that comes with the territory.

"Alice I don't think we can use the "what happens in Vegas" defense for last night. I'm just going to have to live with the consequences."

Edward backed into my room carrying a tray, "How's our little patient, Alice?"

"It was touch and go there for a while but I think if we hook her up to an IV, she should make it." She smiled at me; I think my face may have shown a look of horror upon it. Needles the one topic a person should not joke about around me.

"Bella what's wrong?" Edward questioned.

"You're not seriously going to put a needle in me?" I squeaked.

Edward shook his head, "I'm not a real doctor, I just play one on TV." He laughed. And he was right, at one point in his career he did play one on TV; it was a guest appearance stint that was a ratings bonanza.

Edward looked over to Alice, "Alice could you give us a moment?" She hopped down from my bed gave a wave as she left.

"So…"I began.

"Yeah, we need to talk. First, I brought you some breakfast and let me say I will be a lot more agreeable with the more you eat." I looked at the food, on any normal day my ass would had been all over it well some of it. Pancakes with strawberries and a cup of fruit on the side. A large glass of water and beside it another smaller glass with some kind of thick red liquid in it.

I decided to go for misdirection and take my time with the things I knew I could eat. I offered up a thank you and picked up the bowl of the cut up fruit. Just as I began stabbing a piece of cantaloupe with my fork Edward spoke, "Just so you know, I'm not leaving until you've consumed every last bit."

I looked down at the tray, eyeing the red juice like the contents held a death sentence. Apprehensively I asked, "What is it?"

"I can honestly tell you, that you don't want to know." He said.

"Just tell me" I was beyond frustrated. I slowly felt like all the power was in his hands. I hated that feeling. If he thinks for one minute he can boss me around, just because he helped me out last night he has another thing coming. I mean who does he think he is my boss? Oh right, damn.

"Alright, but you are still going to drink it. It's called a Red Eye, it contains orange juice…"

I interrupted, "Well that's not so bad."

"Coffee, pepper, whiskey, tabasco sauce" My stomach was turning just hearing this. "And a raw egg."

"No I'm not drinking that, it's against my religion." I was adamant.

"That's not funny Bella." He reprimanded me.

"I'm allergic to …eggs."

"Says the girl who plowed through a whole carton last week. I'm not playing around with you; either you drink it on your own like a big girl or you won't like what I'll be forced to do." He threatened.

I sat there staring at it, trying to come up with a plan. I looked around the room for some inspiration, I could throw it out the window but my aim isn't very good and knowing my luck lately I'd most likely hit him in the head. I could "accidently" spill it but with the mood Edward seemed to be in I wouldn't put it past him to make me lick it up.

I decided to leave it to the end, hoping inspiration would strike. He dropped it for the time being.

"Bella about last night…" he stopped himself abruptly and I could tell he was changing direction with his thoughts. "I think you need to control the amount of alcohol you consume in the future, I'm not mad at you. But after what I saw last night, I'll be honest, you really had me worried."

"I know. I'm sorry. I could never make an apology that would even come close to how sorry I am for everything. But after last night, I swear I will never drink again." Oh shit the plan was forming.

"Well there have been plenty of people who have come before you that have said that very thing, I'm not saying don't drink, I'm just saying don't drink to point of drunkenness." He smiled over to me.

"No I mean it, I'm not drinking anymore, in fact," I picked up the offending glass offering it to him "If you could make this without the whiskey I would be happy to drink it." He wasn't amused. He rose from the chair crossing over to me, I started to get nervous maybe I crossed the line and he was planning on smothering me with the pillow. He picked up the tray and set it on the desk. I still had the vile concoction in my hand.

My voice trembled, "What are you planning to do?" I swallowed loudly. He picked up my towel from off the floor and spread it out on my lap. "Give me the drink." He said quietly. I slowly handed it to him. He set himself up on the bed next to me, "Alright, I'm going to hold your nose, just like my mother used to do when I didn't want to take medicine and one, two, three you swallow and it will be over in a flash."

"News flash, I'm pretty sure as a child you only had a tablespoon of yuckiness, this is a huge glass."

"It's a cup. I measured it myself."

"So holding my nose? What exactly was the plan you might have been forced to do?" I probed.

"Same thing just with Emmett's help." He shrugged.

"You lost your damn mind!"

"And your stalling, stop it!" he brought his hand to my nose, I pouted as I tried to pull away.

"Bella" he warned, "If you don't stop this minute I won't allow you to come to set tomorrow."

I opened my mouth in shock; he knew just where to hurt me the most. "Gee, that's real fair." I settled down, he took ahold of my nose again and brought the glass to my lips. I started whining just at the thought. He slowly started to tip the contents into my mouth and down my throat they went.

I can't even begin to describe the evil nastiness Edward inflicted upon me. Part of me started to think that maybe this was some kind of revenge for last night and that this drink really wasn't a hangover cure after all. I began bouncing up and down the more the drink came to a close. By the last drop I'm pretty sure there were tears in my eyes.

"There. That wasn't so bad." Edward smiled.

The look I gave him would send Satan himself running. He got up from the bed laughing; he picked up the tray and asked me to join him downstairs for a mini meeting to go over tomorrow once I was decent.

I started feeling apprehensive about going downstairs, I'm sure that Jasper had heard all about my escapades from last night and I wasn't exactly thrilled of having to show my face. Then there was Emmett who I'm sure just couldn't wait to tease me.

Prolonging the inevitable I decided to take a long hot bath. By the time I was done I was so relaxed I could've gone back to bed, but I knew that Edward needed me to talk to him so that we would be on the same page for tomorrow.

As I descended the stairs, the uneasiness weighed upon me.

"Hey it's Old Faithful, not planning to erupt soon are you, Bella? I want to make sure I have the proper distance." Emmett broke into fits of laughter the only one amused by his own joke.

"Hey it's old…oh wait, that's right, you're just plain old." I smiled over to him.

Emmett's face instantly changed, "I'm only 38, that's not that old." He pouted.

"Don't dish it if you can't take it Em." Alice rightfully said.

"Alright that's enough." Edward, always the peacemaker. "Bella are you feeling better?" I hadn't really thought about it but my massive headache had disappeared and light wasn't bothering my eyes as much.

"Yeah, I feel good." Wow drunken crisis averted.

"I know. Told you my cure would work maybe next time you won't fight me so much." Arrogant ass crisis not averted.

"I don't think it had anything to do with your drink, Mr. Cullen. It was the beautifully long bath I just took that is the cause of my good health. Your drink is most likely the cause for my uneasy stomach." I lied, my stomach actually felt pretty damn good. But I wasn't about to let him think he won. His eyes bore into mine, I looked away busying myself with a pillow on the couch.

"Whatever you say Bella, I'm sure you are a woman of your word." He could tell I was lying. I guess I was going to have to cross his name off the list of people I can never play poker with. Although I have to admit my poker face has never been very good and my list was getting thin.

Our meeting was fairly short mostly because all Edward wanted to talk about was my safety. He went on and on about how Rome was a big city and how I should stay within the roped off areas at all times because he didn't want me getting lost. I told him that I wasn't planning on getting lost; the plan was to be kidnapped, duh. He was not amused and told me that if he couldn't trust me, I would spend the next couple of months working from home. I promptly shut it after that.

I could tell that he all the sudden seemed nervous of our deal, he started talking about not allowing myself in to take on any jobs I physically knew I wasn't capable of handling. Make sure you don't lift more than forty pounds, Bella. Make sure you don't get electrocuted, Bella. Make sure you don't walk, Bella you could trip. Alright maybe I was exaggerated on that last one. I finally had enough, so I mimicked Edward and said, "Make sure you don't go near the makeup brushes Bella, you could poke an eye out." That promptly ended our meeting.

Tomorrow was the day, the day I have been looking forward to my entire life; it felt like fate that it just so happened to coincide with my birthday.


	7. CHAPTER SEVEN

It's an hour drive from Lake Bracciano into the heart of Rome. Call time for was set for six am, which meant we needed to leave the house by five. It wouldn't have mattered if call time was at two in the morning, with all the anticipation for my first day, I couldn't sleep a wink. Around three am I went down stairs and had my first Espresso, by five I was on my third and was pretty much bouncing around the house like Tigger on speed. Edward came down the stairs at 4:30 and caught me rearranging all the silverware in the kitchen.

"Bella how long have you been up?" he asked hesitantly.

"Well technically I never went down, however I came down I mean like down here like as in downstairs around three and decided that all the silverware should be arranged differently but then I realized after that perhaps you wouldn't want all your silverware rearranged and so I have spent the last hour cleaning and putting them back in their respective places." I was talking inhumanly fast.

"Um Bella, just how many of those espressos did you have?" Edward questioned.

"Three. Why?"

"I think from now on you should treat the espresso machine like a bottle of whiskey. You're going a mile a minute, what's going to happen around two pm? You're going to crash. I need you to be alert when on set, which means you need to get the proper eight hours of sleep…"

I cut him off, "I couldn't sleep, I mean I tried everything. I counted sheep, I took a hot bath, and I even tried watching The English Patient. I can't help it; it's like a medical condition." My voice was so high pitched any moment dogs would be barking.

"Well you can take your nap around two today and try and make up some of the hours you missed last night." Edward began pulling out the orange juice.

"You can't be serious. You still expect me to nap on work days?" I was shocked; I mean for one, how unprofessional would it be to go to your job and tell your boss, I'm sorry I can't get those tasks done today I have to go nap. However in this case it was my boss telling me to forgo my responsibilities to nap, I'm sure any person reading this that has a job feels pretty sorry for me. But just imagine you had your chance to go to Disneyland for the day and you paid the outrageous price to get in and then you were forced to nap, you would have given up valuable time to sleep! But alas I digress.

"Bella, I'm a thousand percent serious, my trailer has a bed in it, and I expect you to drop whatever you are doing around two pm and go nap. We have a deal; I can see that today you will definitely be in need of some sleep."

"But what will people think when I go in your trailer and don't come out for an hour." God this was so frustrating, the things I have to do to make this dream of mine come to fruition. Of course to any outsider, I was worried they would think I was helping Edward out with his more private needs. The last thing I wanted was for people to think I was getting it on with the boss, however I doubt they would ever believe that someone like Edward would go for a plain Jane like me when he could have his pick of the litter.

"Bella they will think what I tell them to think which is that you have to go and deal with my affairs, dealing with my agent and publicist and anyone else who works with me. You know maybe you should stay here for the day, I'm not sure you're going to be up for this and I don't want you burning out on me so soon."

I started panicking; I could feel tears building, "No no no. I promise I'll be fine, I will do whatever you want, please don't take this away from me. Please." I was pleading I think he realized just how upset I became. He came and placed his hands on my shoulders forcing me to look at him.

"Ok. Ok, it's going to be fine." Edward pulled me into a hug, "Please just be careful and promise me if you get too tired you will take it easy." I nodded. Just being in Edward's arms was incredible, I never in my life felt as safe as I did that moment.

Always one to ruin the moment, "Whoa, are we in the middle of a love fest? Can I get in on some of this action?" Emmett teased.

Edward let go promptly, "Shut it Emmett!" wow Edward was irritated.

We finally were on our way; Edward said he would drive because he didn't want me jeopardizing people's lives with my lack of sleep. He had a sleek black Mercedes, whose seat warmers were my new best friend.

Edward, driving like the mad man he was managed to get us there fifteen minutes early. I have to admit that I was kind of glad I didn't drive that first day, Rome traffic was crazy. We're not talking about crazy Los Angeles traffic where it's bumper to bumper. Imagine L.A. traffic with no use no use of lanes. Everyone just merges together in one big mess no rhyme or reason for anything. Then you have buses on rails going up and down various streets. Some streets were barely wide enough to fit a car driving through it.

But oh my Rome was magnificent. Everywhere I looked; it was one remarkable building after another. Churches, some seemed to be carved into their locations, others stood tall and impressive. The whole floor of Rome seemed to be covered in cobblestone a feat I found impressive for the many Italian women walking in the highest heels. The first filming location was going to be near the Spanish Steps, a grand cascading stairway with live flowers planted on and around them. These steps had been there for almost three hundred years. Many famous writers and poets had come here to use the steps for their inspiration and sat upon them writing some of the loveliest words ever written.

There was a small street that had been roped off for the production vans and trailers, a whole line of them winding their way through the streets. Edward being the important man he is was ushered through and he parked right next to his trailer. Emmett got out right away yelling a grand hello to everyone, there was no way he would ever need a mega phone. Edward asked for me to follow him to his trailer.

"Bella you can leave your personal items in here and I want you to know that you can feel free to use this trailer. Are you ready?" he looked over at me.

"Yes, I just am trying to figure out where to begin. I'm so nervous." I smiled to him, "Thank you again. I'll never be able to thank you enough for this opportunity. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"You're going to be fine Bella; you will charm everyone just as you've charmed me." We stood there looking at one another, a moment that felt deeply intimate. Somehow it didn't feel weird, in fact it felt right. We were interrupted from our little trance with a harsh knock on the door. "Mr. Cullen you are needed in wardrobe."

"Come with me." He said and I followed him out the door. "If you are going to start with helping and job shadowing, maybe wardrobe and makeup would be a good place. Provided you don't poke your eye out with a makeup brush." He smiled and winked at me.

"Ha Ha oh Edward how are you not a comedian?"

"I could be one. I am an actor; I can be anything I want." He teased.

We made our way to wardrobe and I met a lovely lady by the name of Magda. She fussed all over Edward getting on his case about keeping her waiting. Edward explained how I was willing and able to help out, so if she needed an extra hand, I was hers to use. She immediately put me to work and I was thankful for her and Edwards's kindness.

Edward moved onto makeup but I stayed behind to help Magda. She told me that the first day was always crazy, everyone running every which way getting used to the flow of things. She introduced me to some of her assistants, Karen, Michael and Shannon. All of them were amazingly talented; I always admired people who could sew. It was actually something my mom was very good at, throughout the years I would sit down and design an outfit, dress or Halloween costume and she could make it perfectly.

During the day I began to meet more and more people, I was even starting to make a couple of friends. Edward came to check on me a couple of times, he said that he had costume questions for Magda, but I could tell they weren't important. I was really starting to feel the fatigue of not sleeping around noon, but I forced my adrenalin to kick in to keep me moving.

Word was already spreading that we were already behind schedule, even though Edward had already filmed a scene that morning, Lauren Mallory didn't show up for her call time until an hour and a half after. Apparently she said that seven am was far too early to expect her. I'll never forget the likes of Lauren Mallory, everything I had ever heard about her was true and so much worse than anyone could imagine. If I knew now what I knew then, I probably would have punched her the first time I met her instead of letting her get the better of me.

She struts in and started barking orders like everyone was responsible for her lateness. She apparently knew Magda and the rest of the assistants because the first time she saw me she said, "Who's the fat girl?" I was shocked; I mean what kind of a human being could say something like that toward a complete stranger. I mean I was a size eight and I worked my ass off to get down to that, just because I wasn't a size two she felt that it was okay to give me an instant moniker of "fat girl"? In those couple of seconds between her saying that and the next person talking, I managed to instantly relive my entire childhood. The next person talking just so happened to be me.

"Excuse me, I have a name. My name is Bella I work for Edward Cullen, however I was just happening to help out today with…"

She cut me off, "You think I care? Ugh." She flipped around apparently disgusted by the art of conversation.

"Now Lauren, you need not be so rude. Why don't you come with me so we can get you dressed?" Magda the saint she was handled the situation beautifully.

Lauren trotted off and I stood there for a second trying to not let it get to me but the more I thought about it the more it hurt and the more I just wanted to cry.

My thoughts were interrupted by Jerry a production assistant I had met earlier. "Bella? Mr. Cullen is looking for you. He asked for you to meet him at his trailer." I looked over to the clock and saw that it was already three pm. Crap just what my day needed, now I was going to get crap from Edward.

I made my way to his trailer, he was of course sitting inside reading over his lines I imagine since his lips were moving.

"You're late."

"Sorry" I replied, taking off my shoes. I laid down on the bed with my back to him.

"Is everything ok?" he asked.

"It's great, just like old times." I said quietly.

I must have fell soundly asleep because the next thing I know Edward was rubbing my back telling me that it was time to wake up and go home. I felt so tired but it was then I realized how dark the trailer was. I sat up with a jolt. "Oh my God, how late did I sleep?"

"It's seven." He replied.

"I slept the whole day away, crap." This day seriously could not get any worse. I don't know why maybe it was because of Lauren or maybe it was I had just wasted very valuable time sleeping but I started to cry.

"Hey, what's wrong? Don't cry." Edward soothed.

"It's just that this day has been really crappy, crapier then I ever thought possible." I moaned out my frustrations.

"What happened? I thought you seemed very happy with Magda?"

"Oh, Magda was amazing, I just had other issues. It doesn't matter, I'm sorry for unloading on you, you have been wonderful. I'll be fine." I sighed.

He started smiling at me, "I know what will make you happy. Come forth my assistant, gelato on me."

"Assistant, I don't even have a name anymore?" I laughed.

"Not when we are on set, you are Assistant! I expect you to be my beckon call girl and did I say you were allowed to look me in the eye." He was teasing, and it was working, he managed to make me forget about my silly problems.

We finished a delicious meal at a local café, Edward just as he promised, secured me an ice cream. When we arrived back that night, I was exhausted and knew there would be no trouble with sleep tonight, which was good since we had the same call time tomorrow morning.

There was a package on the steps which Edward picked up, "It's for you Bella." I looked at the label and it was from my parents. "I'm sorry I gave your address only to my parents, I made them promise not to tell anyone. They were only supposed to use it for emergencies." Leave it to my mother to constitute my birthday as an emergency.

"It's ok, I'm not mad," He said. We went into the house, Emmett nagging me the whole way as to what was in the box. All I wanted to do was run upstairs and open it, but with Emmett's nagging I gave in and took it to the dining table. Emmett whipped out his Swiss Army knife and tore into the box.

"Emmett let her look. It could be really personable." Edward commanded.

The box was filled with streamers and I had to pull it out to get to the contents. This was so embarrassing.

"Wow, your mom sure likes streamers." Emmett looked at the offensive pile, confused.

I pulled out a box that was splashed with bright colors a big, "Happy Birthday" written upon it.

"Bella, when's your birthday?" Edward asked. Damn guess I was going to have to come clean.

"Um. Today." I said cringing.

"Today?! Bella why didn't you tell me?" Edward seemed genuinely upset.

"It's not important, it comes around every year. No big deal."

"No big deal? Don't you know that birthdays are a very big deal? How old are you?" Emmet asked.

"22. Like I said no big deal."

"Well tomorrow night we are going out to celebrate. When we get home, we will get the whole gang together and go to the best restaurant in town." Edward announced.

"You really don't have to do that. It's ok. I don't even celebrate my birthdays when I'm at home." This was getting out of hand, the last thing I wanted them to do was to go and spend their money on me. I felt like I was taking advantage of them.

"Bella, we are going out, you deserve to be celebrated. No arguments. I'll tell Alice and Jasper. Tomorrow at eight." He went up the stairs. I just stared after him, perplexed.

"So what's in the box?" Emmett licked his lips.

I opened it and looked, "cookies. You want them?" I handed them over and Emmett took off upstairs triumphant.

What a weird interesting day. I couldn't even think on everything that happened today I was far too exhausted; I'd worry about it tomorrow.


	8. CHAPTER EIGHT

My day was already so much better than the day before. It was noon and I felt rested and on fire. I managed to stay away from Lauren Mallory, which is always a good thing. I managed to meet the Director of Photography, who most people called crotchety Carl but for some reason he had taken a liking to me but I did manage to find out his favorite sweet and acquire it from a local bakery. Hey I'm not above bribing people.

During the resets, Carl actually let me hold onto his work pouch and hand him different things when he asked for them. In return he showed me how to get the best angles to deal with lighting issues. This kind of education was far more valuable to me then he realized.

When Lauren came to set, I hastily made my way away from the filming and decided to help out poor Tommy with craft services. Craft service was sometimes the worst job, when dealing with overly important people and their food; it quickly became a thankless job usually ending in someone getting yelled at. Essentially it was your job to provide a variety of snacks to the crew and cast and when meals were involved it was your job to go out and get the meals. Here was the hard part, sometimes you would order lunch and then filming would go long and the food would cool and then there was hell to pay.

I was having such a great day; I didn't even pitch a fit when Edward summoned me for my daily nap. However this time I set an alarm to ensure my day wasn't wasted.

The day wrapped and we made our way home, I was getting up so early and getting home so late that I hadn't seen Alice in days. She pounced on me the second I stepped my foot in the door.

"How could you not tell me about your birthday? I thought we were best friends." Alice said displeased.

"Alice we've known each other a couple of weeks, I'm sure you have far closer friends than I."

"Don't change the subject, this is not about me. Now in order to make this up to me, I have kicked Jasper out of our room and we are going to get ready together. Go shower, get your outfit for tonight and come quickly to my room, there's work to be done."

I didn't dare argue with her, I knew that most celebrities were used to getting their way and when they didn't they go from heart of gold to rapid beast in two seconds.

The shower was amazing, I may have spent more time than necessary but I couldn't find it in me to care. Alice had the sink completely set up, it looked like a Niemen Marcus makeup counter. I was never one to take the time to put makeup on; when I did it was minimal. I think that's because my mom hadn't taught me, stating that makeup was an invention by men to keep their woman looking fresh.

I had just planned on wearing black pants and a nice top; of course Alice was disgusted by my choice in clothing for the night's event and instantly took it upon herself to raid my closet. I did bring a couple of dresses but I always felt self-conscious of my legs.

"So has the filmmaking world been all you dreamed it could be?" Alice had tortured my eyebrows for the past few minutes.

"It truly is Alice; it has been all I expected and more. I expected the constant rush. The intensity. The bitchy actors, no offense."

She scrunched up her forehead, oh crap she took offense.

"What bitchy actors? Has Edward been giving you a hard time? Oooo I'm going to kick his ass." She was getting comically pissed off but I knew I had to stop her. As much as I like to see Alice stomp over to Edwards's room and kick his ass it wouldn't be right.

"Calm yourself, Alice. Of course Edward has been great; I really lucked out with that one after seeing the two sad sprites that have to put up with Lauren Mallory."

She sighed dramatically and plopped down on the bath tub. "Lauren Mallory. You know I asked Jasper to not take this job because I didn't even want to be around her let alone Jasper, but Edward asked and of course Jasper can't say no to Edward. She hasn't caused you trouble, has she?"

I fidgeted a little looking down.

"Bella! What did that bitch do?" She shrieked.

"It's not that bad, really Alice. It's nothing I can't handle. She just caught me off guard with her...bitchiness." I huffed.

"Bella you should tell Edward. If he knew..."

"No way." I interjected. "All Edward needs right now is one reason to renege on our little deal, besides I don't need someone else fighting my battles."

"What deal?" Alice always so curious.

"I'm sure he's told you." She looked confused.

"I have to nap in order to spend my time wisely on set shadowing other working professionals rather than running around grabbing him coffee and answering his phone calls."

Her jaw dropped. Alice got up from the tub and walked around still in shock. I thought I heard her say "impossible" under her breath.

"What's impossible?" I questioned.

She immediately snapped out of it and came back to the counter.

"Nothing." She looked at me and it almost seemed like she had a tear in her eye. She gave me a big smile and started messing with my hair. Ok I already knew Alice was a little weird but she was quickly moving to a lot of weird.

She looked at me in the mirror and said, "Don't worry about Lauren and trust me when I tell you, she can't touch you." I sent a sad smile her way, I didn't want to tell Alice that Lauren didn't need to touch me she did enough damage with her words.

I do have to admit that after she was done with my makeup and hair I did see a vast improvement. We walked down the stairs at 8:15, which was fashionably late as Alice pointed out. The boys all waiting in their casual suits, which sorry but I do have to take a moment to make you jealous with my next words. Even though I wasn't lucky enough to sample the goods, I had a front row seat to a show that had more tight buns and abs then a Chippendales.

The restaurant that Edward chose was right on the lake and being the clientele that all of them were they were ushered in and given the best table with no wait. Its funny looking at our whole group, Emmett, Edward, Alice, Jasper and I, it would be real easy to play the game who doesn't belong.

Edward made it a point to tell our waiter that it was my birthday to ensure the best possible service; I was just hoping they wouldn't come out and sing some embarrassing birthday song. We were on our second bottle of wine by the time the dinner arrived, I had ordered the rack of lamb, a meal I was lucky to try once and fell in love with. This lamb was so tender that it melted off the bone and it may have been the best thing I have ever tasted up to that point in my life.

Alice decided that I was to be the topic of conversation for dinner, and started asking me questions. "So Bella, tell us more about yourself, I feel like I hardly know you." She took a sip of her wine.

"Well there's not much to tell, my mom's a teacher my dad's a cop. Filmmaking is my passion. Not so exciting over on this end of the table." It felt awkward to talk about myself; however Alice felt I wasn't nearly uncomfortable enough and decided to ask a follow up question. "What about your love life? What has that been like?" I don't know why but my eyes instantly went to Edward and my face flamed. Realizing I had just looked over at my boss, I quickly refocused on my wine glass.

"Alice, why do you want to know?" I asked irritated.

"Oh come on Bella, its not that personal of a question, geez it's not like I asked you when the last time you got laid was?"

I choked on my wine, I was about to lay into her once I stopped coughing but it was Jasper who came to my defense, "Alice, that's enough."

I had never seen Jasper look at Alice with anything but a look of pure love, but right now even I wouldn't mess with him. Alice sat back in her chair with her arms crossed over her chest, pouting.

"I apologize for Alice's rudeness, Bella." I suddenly felt sorry for Alice I may not have liked her line of questioning but I certainly didn't want her to get into trouble.

"It's ok, but if she really is so interested in my love life, I think she'd be more interested in watching grass grow." I laughed trying to ease the tension.

"So, when was the last time you got laid?" Emmett asked suddenly obviously trying to be funny.

"Emmett, that's none of your damn business. I think we should just leave Bella alone, we are supposed to be celebrating her birthday not trying to get her to run for the hills." Edward reprimanded.

"Thank you, Edward." I said shyly.

Dessert came and they brought out a huge chocolate cake with sparklers on top. If that didn't make me feel special, presents came shortly after. Alice began pulling out small wrapped gifts from her Prada bag. I began to protest, "No guys, I'm sorry I can't accept. This dinner with you all was present enough."

"Bella accept the damn gifts." Edward said.

"This is from Jasper and I." Alice handed over a small square box, I pulled the wrapping off and took out a beautiful light blue silk scarf on top of it was a silver sparkly broach. "Oh wow, it's beautiful. Thank you so much guys." I didn't even want to think how much they all spent, but like my mother had always taught me it doesn't matter if it costs a penny or a million bucks, just smile and give a sincere "Thank you".

Edward handed me a slightly heavier small rectangular box, I quickly made do with the wrapping. It was an I-pod touch. I know that most people would look at this and see just an I-pod. But it meant so much more to me. The Mp3 player that I currently had was cheap and didn't hold a lot of music on it. I loved music; I always felt that my tastes ran wide compared to most people. I loved rock, rap, classical, Broadway, pop and nearly everything in between.

"I saw your banged up music player sitting out and thought I could help you with an upgrade." Edward said nervously. "If you don't like it…" I quickly interrupted that thought, "I love it. Thank you, this means so much to me."

Emmett pounced in dropping his gift in my place, "here's a gift card for iTunes, to help you with loading that sucker up." I didn't even unwrap it, but I thanked him.

"Thank you guys, this has been the best birthday in so long." I said sincerely.

"Let's all raise a glass, to Bella." Jasper said.

"To Bella!" Everyone said cheerfully.

We arrived back home, funny how I had only been here for a couple of weeks and this place was already home. Jasper pulled Alice upstairs with him, she had drunk a tad too much and he said it was time for bed. Emmett went off to his room.

I decided to go to the kitchen to get something to drink,

Edward followed me in. "Late night snack?" he asked.

I laughed, "Are you kidding me? We just ate; I'm so full I may not eat till my next birthday."

"I know I was just kidding."

"Thank you again for tonight, Edward. Even though I didn't want my birthday celebrated, it felt nice. So thank you for that." I sat down upon the bar stool and he slowly walked over to me stopping within inches of me, "Bella, you deserve so much more. I wish I could make you see what I see."

My breathing felt shallow and I slowly swallowed, there was a thousand thoughts running through my mind but I couldn't tell you a one of them now because in those next few seconds I found Edward's lips on mine. I closed my eyes imagining that this was all real. It wasn't until I felt the loss of them that I realized what I had just done.

"Oh, Oh my god, Oh my god, I am so so sorry. I don't know what happened, Oh god oh god please don't fire me." I was up out of my seat ranting around like a maniac. My dreams momentarily collided with reality and now I had truly messed up.

Edward approached me grabbing a hold of my shoulders making me stop and look at him. "Bella calm down. I kissed you!" What in the hell was going on? He continued slowly enunciating every single word, "I kissed you and I've wanted to kiss you for so long. I have been having these feelings for you for so so long. I like you, like really like you."

I just stood there staring at him. It all the sudden made sense to me, like a moment of clarity. I began laughing; Edward was looking at me like I was crazy.

"I get it, oh that's a good one Edward." I began to walk away, "wow you almost had me going, where's Emmett. Emmett you can come out now, the joke is over. Ugh way over." I said annoyed. I pick up my glass to refill it with water.

"Bella I'm being serious."

"Yeah, sure you are and next week I'm having tea with the queen." I finished off with my best British accent which anyone would tell you it's pretty horrible.

Edward walked to me once again and took my face in his hands, "I'm serious Bella, and this isn't a joke. This isn't a prank. I like you. I want to date you. I want to get to know you and I want you to get to know me too."

I started tearing up, "Why are you doing this? This isn't funny anymore, Edward. Please stop." I tried to pull away but he took my shoulders and held me in place.

"Why don't you believe me?"

"You like me?" I questioned harshly. "Why would someone like you ever like me? Your Edward fucking Cullen, you could have anyone in the world both men and women would fall at your feet and you could take your pick." I was starting to get loud. I was getting mad, the whole world felt out of balance.

"Who gives a shit if I am Edward fucking Cullen; you said I could have my pick. Well I pick you. Why is that so hard for you to believe? Why do you always have to be so goddamn stubborn?" his voice was far more impressive than mine.

"Look you hold all the cards here, technically what I'm doing is crossing the line you could sue me for sexual harassment. All I'm asking for is one date, just one. Please give me a chance." I let out a small giggle, his words reminded me of the first day I met Emmett. He looked annoyed with my giggle so I explained, "sorry it's just that Angel told Emmett that I could have charged him with sexual harassment because he hugged me the first time he met me. You had to be there."

"So are you going to give me a chance?" Edward asked tentatively.

I stood there for a moment thinking, I mean on one hand what did I have to lose. Oh right my job, Edward, Emmett, Alice and Jasper, Italy, the first time in my life where I feel like I am right where I belong, my future, everything I've worked for, pretty much everything. I couldn't allow myself to think for one second that Edward and I could walk off into the sunset and live happily ever after. I don't care what he thought, he was way out of my league and it was only a matter of time before this fleeting fog would lift.

"Ok" What the hell, you only live once right?


	9. CHAPTER NINE

When I was fifteen years old, a boy asked me out on a date. It was the one and only time I was asked out, that was until Edward. I remember asking my mom to take me to the store to pick out something special. Reading up on Seventeen magazine for articles like "How to Get Him to Want You." And waiting at the theatre till eleven pm because he failed to show up, finding out the next day that it was all a joke.

Fast forward seven years, I looked at myself in the mirror as I got ready that morning. Even though we were going on our "date" that evening, I still had a job to do. I may have taken more time than usual that morning, not because I was trying to gussy myself up, but I still hadn't worked up the courage to go downstairs yet.

Come on Bella! Pull it together. I chanted this to myself over and over as I descended the stairs. I only prayed that Edward didn't say anything to anyone, the last thing I needed was Emmett's teasing. I saw Edward pacing in the kitchen almost in the exact place I left him the night before.

"Good morning?" I meant for it to sound natural, but it came out more like a question. Pull it together Bella. Edward looked up at me and smiled.

"Good morning, would you like some orange juice or milk?" I came over to him, taking the orange juice from him. I allowed my hair to fall forward creating a shield. "Um Edward, I was wondering if maybe we could keep last night to ourselves." I said quietly.

"What are you talking about?" For a moment my heart stopped. Maybe I imagined last night or maybe it was a really vivid dream. I looked over to him momentarily stunned. I could see a smile creeping on his face.

"Uh, about tonight?" Last night when Edward asked me out we agreed that our date should happen sooner than later. I felt that the sooner he got this out of his system the sooner we could go back to normal.

"Bella I'm not sure what you are referring to." Ok now he was just being difficult.

"You know what, never mind, I wasn't referring to anything. I plan on coming home tonight and going straight to bed." I huffed and began to walk off; he caught me by the arm and brought me back to him. "Come on Bella, don't be like this. I was only kidding. If it would make you more comfortable, then we can keep this on the down low for now." He kissed me on the forehead.

"Down low? Edward the nineties called they'd like their phrase back." I smiled up at him. We could hear Emmett bounding down the stairs and so we pulled away.

I tried my best to focus all day while at work, but no matter what department I helped out I kept finding my heart racing or mind wandering to the date. I even went to lengths to avoid Edward. Oh my god if I was avoiding Edward now, what would happen after tonight and he realized what a huge mistake this was. I would have to quit. I would have to give this all up. I could feel my breathes becoming shallower I needed to stop what I was doing and find a private place for my panic attack. I ran to Edward's trailer I knew he was on set so I would be safe.

I instantly made it to his bed and sat down I put my head down and tried to focus on the peaceful Lake Bracciano. Keep it together Bella. The trailer door opened and Edward seeing my crazy ass, rushed to my side, I'm sure I looked a fright.

"Bella what's wrong? What happened?" Edward sounded as panicked as I felt.

"Just… give…. me…a moment." I said through gasps. He sat there quite, just rubbing my back as I kept my head down trying to focus on anything but tonight's affairs. I finally was able to rein my thoughts in after a couple of minutes.

"I'm sorry; I sometimes have mild panic attacks."

"What brought this on, Bella?"

I slowly got up from the bed and walked to the window. The blinds had always been shut since the beginning of filming, the sunlight straining to get through. I kept my back to him. "I don't know how to do this. I fear that going out with you will jeopardize my career and I can't bear the thought of losing all this." I turned to him, "on the other hand part of me is saying come on Bella you have this perfectly great guy who wants to date you I think your problems are slightly less tragic then other worldly issues." I sat back down on the bed toward him. "So what do I do? I want to attempt a date with you but I don't want to lose my job either."

"Bella" he looked at me with the saddest eyes. "I don't want you to stress about this. I can't help what I feel for you and I want a date you so much but I don't want you to ever feel pressured into this, like at any moment I would fire you because this didn't work out. Please believe me when I say I would never do anything to harm your career. No matter what you did or how this ended if it did end I would want you to be happy."

"I know I'm being silly but this isn't something I do often" I wish he knew just how true that was.

"You mean you don't date your bosses all the time? I'm shocked I must have read your résumé wrong." his little joke helped break up the tension.

"Bella, I promise tonight is going to be very low-key, you can even wear jeans if you'd like. I'm just going to make us some dinner and then we will talk. Nothing big, just a normal average dinner at the house."

"That sounds nice. Thank you."

"For what, honey?" He asked.

"For calming me down and making me feel better. I've been known to stress out sometimes."

Edward laughed, "No not you. You are the epitome of calm and level headedness."

"Alright Mr. Cullen go ahead and make fun of the girl you're about to go out with, I'm sure she'll be dying to go on a second date with you."

He shook his head, "alright I apologize. How about you lay down for a while. I think it will be good for you."

"I should get back to work." I knew that wasn't going to work but a girl had to try.

"Come on Swan." He patted the bed. He got up and I took my place laying my head down on the pillow. "You know what I think?" I asked.

"Dirty thoughts? I am a mind reader you know." He looked down on me.

"Haha. No I think you have some weird fetish of watching young girls sleep." I teased.

"However did you know? You know us old guys always trying to find kinky new ways to get it up."

I blushed so much I had to push my face in the pillow, "ew gross." I said disgusted.

"That will teach you to mess with me. Go to sleep Bella." He leaned down and kissed my forehead again ran his hand through my hair once and walked away.

We arrived home around six; Edward said that he was going to set dinner for eight. The worse part of this situation was Emmett didn't understand why he couldn't eat with us. We were driving home and Edward tried to explain to him that he'd have to go and scavenge for his own food tonight. I was trying not to blush, but it felt like all eyes were on me.

I started off with a long bath, trying to get my muscles to relax. I spent thirty minutes standing in just a towel looking at the clothes in my closet. What should I go with? Jeans wearing this is no big deal casual Bella? No. How about slightly sophisticated just came back from a funeral all in black Bella? No. There's slutty I just got out of jail and I'm really horny Bella. But then I'd have to borrow something from Alice and I know I couldn't fit into anything she wore. So no. Crap! Why did this have to be so hard?

I decided to go with girl next door Bella, she can be a bit boring at times, but she was better than the alternatives. I wore a pale yellow knee-length dress with a small flower print and white ballet flats. I left my hair down and went with minimal makeup, if he really wanted to date me he would have to deal with the fact that I wasn't really a girly girl.

I slowly made my way downstairs silently repeating the famous words of the little engine that could, "I think I can. I think I can." I was only half way down when I noticed Edward, I was so focused on remembering to breath and not trip I hadn't noticed him till he was almost in my face.

"You look beautiful, Bella." He took my hands in his.

"Uh yeah. I mean thank you." I stuttered out.

"I'm sorry, you look good too." I was failing big time. Two seconds in and the plane was already crashing.

"Hey there is nothing to be nervous about; it's just Edward and Bella having a bite to eat. Just a normal day in the neighbored." Was he quoting Mr. Roger's? No wait I think the line went, It just a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

"Bella?" Oh crap I was spacing out and Edward was calling at me.

"Sorry, its Mr. Rogers fault." I mumbled.

"Okay." He looked confused but continued on. "Come on follow me." He said talking my hand and pulling me upstairs. I immediately pulled back.

"Why? Why are we going upstairs?" I anxiously asked.

"Because I thought I'd sleep with you before dinner." My eyes got wide. "Kidding, god Bella I'm just joking. I'm sorry that was rude, please will you just trust me."

"If you stopped being stupid then maybe I'd trust you, Edward." I scolded him. He smiled at me and laughed.

"Well then stop freaking out so much, Bella." He made my name sound like it had way more syllables than necessary.

We went up the stairs and walked in the opposite direction of his room and my room. When we got all the way to the other side of the floor there was a staircase there to go up again. I had no idea this was even here, now I was very curious to see where he was taking me. We arrived up top of the house. The roof? My mouth instantly opened and I walked forward letting go of his hand.

I looked around in amazement, "You did this for me?" My damn tears started obstructing my vision as I took in the roof which had green shrubbery all around with thousands of twinkle lights. In the middle was a small table set with a white linen cloth, china and silverware adorning it? Frank Sinatra played softly in the background.

"Miss Swan, may I show you to your table?" Edward held out his arm and I willingly went along with his charade.

"You may" We arrived to the table after a few steps, Edward pulled out my chair for me. He poured me a glass of wine and a glass of water. He then served the salad, a sun-dried tomato salad on romaine lettuce with olive oil creamy dressing.

The weather was perfect a nice warm summer evening, it honestly couldn't have been any better of a night. I sat there unsure of what to talk about; normally I would have no problem talking with Edward. But now we were on a date and any topics that would come spewing out of my mouth had to have at least sounded interesting, or so that's what Seventeen Magazine once told me. Thankfully Edward sensed he would have to be the one responsible for creating a conversation and asked, "What about Italy have you liked the best so far?"

"That's a tough one. Well besides the opportunity of being able to live out one of my biggest dreams, I would have to say the architecture. It's unlike anything I have ever seen in person before. I mean I could look up a picture and it would never do the real live structure any justice. The churches, I would go to church all the time back at home if they looked even half as impressive as the ones here, of course I would probably just stare at the statues and the ceiling the whole time not even paying attention to the message." Yep, I was like a damn Furby when you got me started, I couldn't shut my mouth.

Edward sat there smiling at me, it was starting to make me uncomfortable, so I looked away however when I looked back he still had the same smile on his face almost like he was in a trance. "What?" I asked agitated.

"Bella, you're just so honest. That is such an amazing quality. You have no idea how endearing you are sometimes."

"Sometimes?" I acted offended, "You mean all the time." I paused, "You so weird Cullen." I rolled my eyes. I was finally starting to feel normal around him; well I was starting to feel a lot of things being around him. I decided to distract myself from my thoughts and asked him the same question he had asked me. "So what do you like about Italy?"

"The company." I furrowed my forehead. He got up and served us the dinner portion and he continued, "Bella I love coming here, that's why I bought this house. When I'm here, I feel normal, I feel alive. Or so I thought. This time with you here it feels entirely different. For the first time it feels complete. This feels so perfect, like I'm finishing a puzzle."

His confession left me reeling, I had been chewing on the same piece of steak in my mouth since he started and the once tender meat had nearly become liquid but I couldn't focus my brain on swallowing when what he just said was still running rapid in my mind. I finally managed to swallow and take a massively long sip of wine.

"But, you've brought girls here before; I mean I've seen it on Entertainment Tonight. Like really hot girls, I mean you've had more chicks flocking here then fly south for the winter. Oh god that sounded really inappropriate, sorry." I cringed. Only I could turn a man's heartfelt declaration into a mockery.

"Well in my defense, the media likes to blow things way out of proportion and I'm sure most of those "chicks" happened to be part of Emmett's flock. Wait a minute, why are we talking about this?"

"Well…" How do you tell a pretty person you suffer from acute self-esteem issues brought on by childhood, teen hood and pretty much every other kind of hood there was? Go for deflection. "Enough about you, have you seen this view. I can see why so many famous painters came out of Italy, look at the landscape, and look at the colors…"

"Bella. Stop trying to avoid the subject." He interrupted.

"Geez. Fine. You know why Edward, because this doesn't make any sense. My whole point is there is no possible explanation for you to all the sudden feel these things about me. Because I'm not the kind of girl who gets the guy in the end, I'm at best the pudgy comic relief that ends up alone at the end of the movie cheering on people like Alice and Jasper or you and some other skank like Lauren Mallory. My only job in this life is to make sure the balance of pretty is uninterrupted and to see to it that you live happily ever after." My little rant had caused my face to turn read and fortunately I was able to keep the tears at bay for now.

Edward got up and walked over to me, he put his hand out silently asking for me to get up. I obliged, however I wouldn't blame him if he just walked me over to the stairs and let me go. Instead he took me away from the table towards the corner of the roof where the moon lit up the peaceful lake below. He positioned himself in front of me placing his hand securely on my back and started to sway me back and forth. "What are you doing?" I asked cautiously.

"I'm performing Shakespeare in the park, what does it look like I'm doing?" He softly grinned.

"You remember that huh?" I asked embarrassed thinking back to our time at the bus stop.

"I remember everything about you. You know why that is?" he probed.

"Keeping a log of my infractions, you can use against me at a later date."

"No Bella, I remember because from the first time I watched you silently screaming into the air behind our production offices I knew that there was something about you that made sense to me."

"Really that's the moment I seemed to make sense to you? Maybe I'm not the crazy one after all."

He buried his nose into my hair and kissed my neck, oh god this felt way too good to not be a sin. I began to shiver. This man was good. We stopped swaying for a moment and he brought his lips to mine. The kiss was gentler then the first one we shared. It seemed to last an eternity, probably because there was no one or anything to interrupt us. The feelings in my head were whirling like a tornado. Of course Edward was amazing, he could make me laugh. He made me feel safe. He made me feel like I was worth something. I wanted nothing more than to go down this fantasy road he had us on, but what would happen when the road ended. How could I go back to my life, without him?

"Why are you crying, beautiful girl?" he said gently to me.

I pulled back to look at him. I let go of him and took a step back. "I'm sorry Edward, I can't do this." I took another step back, "I'm sorry." I turned and rushed to the stairs taking them as quickly as possible as I heard Edward calling after me.


	10. CHAPTER TEN

I made it to my room, closing the door as fast as possible. I slide down the wall next to the door, my tears flowing freely. This is why good things like perfectly great men, never happen for you Bella. The second a man takes an interest you find some way to sabotage it and run away.

Edward arrived he instantly began knocking on my door and calling my name. "Bella? Please open the door. Bella?"

"Please go away Edward." I whispered. The knocking instantly stopped. He turned the knob and pushed the door open slowly. Note to self be sure to lock the door next time, dumbass. He took in the sight of me sitting against the wall crying. Edward closed the door behind him, I felt him sit down on the carpet beside me.

"I really suck at this whole date thing, huh?" Edward asked.

"What? No you were perfect. Everything was perfect." I trailed off.

"Oh, it was so perfect you had to get away because you were afraid of it becoming more perfect?" He raised his voice at the end to let me know he was trying to make light of the situation.

"God, Edward I'm a mess, you don't want to date this. There are so many things wrong with this equation; I don't know if there will ever be a right answer. There are so many potentially negative outcomes and in every single one of them I get screwed."

"So… you went with the one where I get screwed. Bella you just said potentially negative, would you care to explain what about us has you worried. I've already told you that I would not ruin your career; you have my word on that. So what else is there?"

"Well for one, if people found out about us, they would think I was sleeping my way to the top. Everyone would think it was just a normal thing for you but for me it could be a career ender. I would be just another Hollywood whore. What little respect I managed to make for myself would be negated."

"Ok…" he began but I cut him off and continued. "Also we have only known each other for a short time, I don't know if I can jump right into a relationship. I've never really been in a serious relationship. I don't know what I'm doing, half the time my inner monologue just spews out all these insecurities that usually cause me to make a fool of myself." I took a brief breath and forged on, "Then what happens if I really start to fall for you and you just end up breaking my heart, I have had to go through so much and I can't stand the idea of losing you because I have really come to value you as a friend and well….you just have all this power to crush me."

"Bella, I wish you could read my mind. I wish you could feel my heart and know my intentions are good. But I will do my best to try and make you feel better about your doubts concerning a relationship with me. If it makes you feel better we can keep this under wraps as long as it takes for you to feel comfortable however I ask that we at least tell our housemates. Would that be fair?"

"Yeah, I guess I can handle Emmett's teasing as long as he swears not to say a word at work." I acquiesced.

"I'll talk to Emmett, he won't be a problem. Now onto the time issue, I know we haven't known each other for very long so we can take this slow. If it makes you feel better you can even continue seeing other people while we date so that you don't feel suffocated."

"Really Edward? Who am I going to go out with?" I said drained.

"The option is open to you. Now onto the whole Edward is planning on breaking my heart insecurity."

"I don't think you are planning on breaking my heart, geez Edward I do think you have a heart."

He started to say some form of rebuttal but then stopped. Edward thought for a moment and then persisted. "There are things about me that someday you will learn some things you may not like but there is one thing I wish I could tell you now. I won't tell you now because I don't think you are ready and it would hold no meaning to you at this point. If you knew this one thing and truly understood it, you would not be worried about my hopes for us and our future."

Wow, I'll take "vague statements" for a thousand Alex.

"And I won't kiss you again until you ask me, it seems like every time I do it causes a negative reaction. You're really starting to bruise my ego over here."

"No the kissing is fine. I like the kissing you can kiss me whenever you like." I said a tad too eager.

"I don't know Bella, I think I'll just have to wait, I wouldn't want there to be mixed signals." He got up and went to pull me up with him. "I think it's time for bed, we may not have an early call time but I think tonight's events have overwhelmed madam for the evening."

I sat back down on the bed he placed his hand on my cheek and for a moment I thought he was going to kiss me when he leaned down bringing his luscious lips to my ear and whispered, "good night Bella, sweet dreams are for the sweet hearts." He turned around and closed my door behind him as he went.

It had been a week since we had gone on our date and Edward just like he had promised was taking everything really slow. So slow that in fact he had not even touched me or kissed me or really even talked to me since that night. Edward did manage to tell Alice, Emmett and Jasper about our little relationship if that's what you would call it. And true to his word, Emmett had yet to actually tease me about it although there was this one moment that we were in the car together and I guess you could sense tension between Edward and myself because Emmett had no problem stating, "Wow you guys are the most awkward dating couple ever."

Surprisingly Alice had not said a thing to me, although I would catch her smiling at me like she was just waiting to burst with whatever tips or advice she had. And we could always count on Jasper, just going on with life uninterrupted with our dating drama.

Of course work continued on like normal and we both did our best to focus on our jobs. At least that's what I kept telling myself since Edward hadn't held a conversation with me in over a week and I could really start to feel myself missing him. I had tried a couple of times to joke around with him, but he always seemed more focus on whatever it was he was doing at the moment to pay me any attention. I guess I deserved it, most famous people don't have a lot of patience and instead of saying something they will just move on to the next thing. Apparently Edward had moved on from this whole notion of dating, and I could already feel my heart breaking for the loss of my friend.

I really started feeling lonely, what was one week of silence turned into two. Even though I had filming to occupy my days, my focus was on Edward and our once budding friendship. Being on set stopped holding the allure it once had and I was slowly becoming a shell of the person I was. I finally had enough one afternoon so I decided to go against his little proposition and completely ignore the nap guideline. I was sure he wouldn't even notice it seemed like he didn't notice much these days. However come three o'clock a production assistant was sent to summon me to Edwards's trailer.

"Bella? Mr. Cullen says that you need to see him. He's in his trailer." I had been hand sewing a button on for Magda.

"Thank you, but can you tell Mr. Cullen that I will be unable to fulfill his request at the moment. I happen to be in the middle of something." I refocused on the button, although I didn't miss the somewhat surprised look on poor Kenny's face. Kenny retreated. I smiled to myself proud that I managed to stand up to him.

Kenny returned five minutes later, "Bella Mr. Cullen said that it is of the utmost importance that you come to his trailer and he added that if you value your job you will do as you're told." That had me seeing red. I carefully put the needle and thread down and walked out with my head high. If Mr. Cullen thought he could threaten me after the way he had been treating me he was sorely mistaken.

I pulled open the door to his trailer and let it slam behind me, if I were a cartoon there would have been steam coming out of my ears. He looked up from the table a note pad in front of him.

"You summoned me, Sir." I spit out.

"You can watch your attitude. Isabella." His words were sharp and I could tell I wasn't the only one pissed off right now. But I wasn't going to back down. Always being the absolute professional I was, "My apologies your majesty, whatever can I do to help make your life improved. I live to serve." Alright maybe not professional but it did get his attention.

"What is the matter with you?" he asked.

"What's the matter with me? What's the matter with you? Edward, why aren't you talking to me anymore?"

"I talk to you all the time just this morning I asked if you wanted breakfast." He spit out.

"You know what I mean."

"Bella you asked me to take this slow that's what I'm doing I'm taking it slow." He said frustrated

"Yeah I said take it slow not completely stop… you know what never mind it doesn't matter." I turned to walk away. I was fighting the tears, damn them for betraying me at every turn.

"No finish what you were going to say." He said harshly.

I stood there just staring my back turned to him he was really starting to piss me off. I mean he was the one who wanted a relationship and now he just made me feel like I was…

"Bella." He said softly right behind me.

"Just forget it." I opened the trailer door and walked out. I needed to get away from set all I wanted to do was just go to my room and sleep away this feeling.

I went to the train station and with the help of a nice English-speaking Italian woman I found the quickest way to Lake Bracciano. It was only a half hour trip but I decided that the smart thing to do was to at least text Edward to let him know I wasn't feeling well and was leaving early for the day. I turned my phone off quickly; I didn't have the courage to see what he would text back.

I arrived at the little train station and began the long walk home. The train station was a couple of miles away from the house so it gave me some time to think. I didn't have to walk far when James came riding up on his Moped.

"Bella! How are you beautiful?" He said with a big smile on his face. I instantly smiled at him, now here was a man who was always happy to see me and made me feel happy as well.

"James, I'm great. How are you? I'm sorry about the club incident I must have had too much to drink I didn't mean to bail on you." He gave me a weird look but quickly replaced it with a smile on his face.

"That's ok. I'm just glad you're here now. Would you like a ride?"

"Yes, thank you. That would be great." He handed me the spare helmet and I hopped on the back of the bike. He drove us to the gelato place where we first met, helping me down from the Moped.

"Bella I feel partly responsible for the negative experience you had at the club that night, if you would allow me the pleasure of making it up to you, I would like to cook you dinner at my house this evening."

Oh god, what should I do?

"I'd like that, if you give me your address I can be there around, seven?"

"That sounds perfect." James wrote down his address, kissed me on the cheek and took off.

I don't know why I was suddenly nervous, it's not like Edward and I were exclusive, hell we weren't even dating. I arrived home sooner than I had anticipated thanks to my knight on shining Moped. As soon as I opened the door Alice was right there with the phone.

"Yes, she just got here." She held her hand over the receiver and whispered harshly, "Bella what were you thinking?" she continued to talk into the phone to who I assumed was Edward. "Ok sure no problem, see you soon." She hung up.

"Well?"

"You know what Alice I have had a really long bad day, so if you'll please excuse me I like to go up to my room and rest for a minute." I walked past her heading toward the steps.

"You know he really does care about you." She called after me.

I quickly turned back to her, "Well you know what he has a really funny way of showing it."

"You asked him to take it slow."

"I asked him to take it slow, not to stop talking to me completely. Why does everyone feel this is my fault? Please just leave me alone." I stomped up the stairs slamming my bedroom door behind me. I couldn't focus on anyone at the moment, so I decided the best thing to do was to get ready for my date.

After a much need shower, I blow dried my hair and put on the dress I would be wearing that evening. I heard Edwards car pull up, but I continued to focus on my makeup. It wasn't two seconds later when Edward burst through my bedroom door.

"Excuse me, haven't you heard of knocking? What if I had been naked for god's sakes?"

"Have you lost your damn mind?" he yelled.

"Have you lost yours barreling in here like a damn bull in a china shop?"

"Bella you have crossed the line. What were you thinking going home by yourself?" he said.

"Gee I was thinking Bella; you are grown woman who is intelligent enough to find a way home without the need for supervision. I was thinking, Edward has done everything in his power to piss you off and the best thing for everyone is if you left and went to cool down far away." I huffed. "Look if it makes you feel better the train wasn't that hard to navigate and I was lucky enough that a friend picked me up from the station and brought me into town." That got his attention.

"Who picked you up?" he was staring at me like the next words coming out of my mouth would determine the course of mankind.

"James." I all the sudden got nervous, "He invited me over to his place for dinner tonight, and I've accepted."

"No. Absolutely not. I forbid it." Now that just pissed me off.

"You don't have a say on whom I date. You have no claim over me; I can do whatever I want, whenever I want and with whomever I want." I spit out those words with venom.

"Bella you are not going." I turned back around and continued getting ready.

"You remember that night at the club when you were so plastered you would allow any man in a five-mile radius to feel you up." I looked at him with my mouth hanging open trying to form words. "Yes that night, the same night James was pouring drinks down your throat. There was a reason he never made it back to the dance floor, I saw him at the bar buying you another drink but this one he added a fine white powder to it." Ok now I was confused.

"He was planning to drug you, until I put a stop to it. I grabbed him by the collar and told him that if he ever came near you again, I would make sure to rip his dick off." Edward looked absolutely lethal. But I couldn't allow myself to believe his words; I mean why keep something like that from me.

"I can't believe you did that? No wonder he looked uneasy to talk to me today. You had no right, Edward."

"Are you fucking kidding me right now Bella, I just told you that the man was planning on raping you and you're mad at me?"

"You probably don't even know what you saw. I know the bar in there and I know where you were sitting there is an absolute possibility that your mind concocted this elaborate story because you just don't like the guy. James has been nothing but nice to me."

"I can't believe your naïvety." He ran his hands through his hair in disbelief.

"Yeah well I can't believe your absurdity." I grabbed my jacket. "Don't wait up for me." I walked out of the room refusing to look back.

I heard him say, "Please don't do this, Bella." Looking back I wish I would have listened.


	11. CHAPTER ELEVEN

Once I made it to town, I found a taxi and gave the man the James's address. We had been driving for about twenty minutes, when the driver slowed and turned down a long rustic driveway. James's house was a small cozy little cottage with big bushes surrounding it. I paid the man the fare being sure to tip him well and let out a huge breath I had been holding.

I looked up at the house, Edward's words were playing in my head and it was then I began to have my doubts. Come on Bella get it together, Edward was just mistaken. However, another voice crept into my head, Bella when has he ever lied to you he may not like James but do you really think he would make up a story like that. Oh shut up Bella! I had been standing at the bottom of the steps to go up to James porch for about a minute, when James opened the door.

"Well are you going to stand there all night?" he joked. Well this was it.

I laughed and promptly walked up the stairs to him; he took me in his arms and kissed me, pushing his tongue in before I had a chance to know what was happening. God, how I miss Edwards's lips, snap out of it you shouldn't be thinking of another man's lips when you are kissing another man! I pulled back, the moment ruined in my mind.

James brought me into the house and took my jacket and purse and threw it in the corner on a chair. "You have a lovely home." I stated trying to think of anything else but what was playing in my mind.

"Thank you, I'll give you the tour later." In the middle of his living room there had been a small folding table set with paper plates and plastic ware. I couldn't help make a comparison to the beautiful table Edward had set for me. Thinking about it, this is probably more what I deserved. The fine china and linen cloth should be reserved for someone far grander than I.

"Would you care for a drink?" he asked walking behind the kitchen counter. What if I said no, would that prove something to me? Damn Edward for making me question this poor mans every move. "I like a glass of water; he turned to the refrigerator and took out a bottle of water. He tossed it to me, "Bella we are having roasted chicken, I have the perfect wine for it. Please say you'll have a glass with me to toast to new beginnings."

Be smart Bella. "I'll have what you're having." I smiled at him he returned it with a smile and nod himself. He turned his back to me and over his shoulder asked me to go and turn on the radio near the television. I couldn't see what he was doing, it was obvious he was pouring the wine, but I did as I was told and turned the radio on. He had just placed the glasses on their respective places at the table and pulled my chair out for me to sit down. He walked back to the kitchen and while he was bent over pulling the chicken out I hurriedly switched the glasses. There now if he did in fact drug me, I was covered, if he didn't then there would be no problem.

He brought over the main dish, proud of his chicken he proclaimed Bon Appetit. He raised a glass and we clanged them together, each of us drinking with our eyes on each other, I laughed trying to ease the tension I knew I was feeling. "This wine is very good, thank you for doing all this for me tonight."

"It's always my pleasure, now let's dig in." he replied.

James's chicken was a tad bit dry for my taste but of course I wasn't going to say anything. Ten minutes had passed since we first drank the wine; James had completely finished the contents of his glass and already started pouring a second glass. I wasn't sure how long it would take for any drugs to work; this wasn't exactly my area of expertise. I needed to relax and just enjoy myself and stop worrying about this.

James all the sudden started looking at me kind of funny. He looked like he was trying to focus on me.

"What's the matter James?" I asked innocently.

He looked to be concentrating like he was trying to rewind things in his mind.

"Awe did you have a bit too much wine there?" I think I may have sounded bitchier than intended.

"You switched the glasses?" he slowly said.

"There would be no problem with me switching the glasses if one of them wasn't laced with something." I was getting angry and far to brave.

"You bitch!" He tried to get up but was having balance issues; I immediately got out of my chair.

"You think you can drug me, asshole. God I can't believe Edward was right about you; well I fucked over your little plan didn't I?" I shouted.

James was barely standing, all the sudden he backhanded me so hard across the face I instantly landed on the floor. My face felt like it had just exploded, little spots came floating into my vision. I looked up at him just as he kicked me in the stomach. I had never been physically in pain the way I was now.

Every part of me was throbbing, as I started to try and get up. James landed on me on top of me pushing himself between my legs and pinning me down with his weight. I tried fighting him with everything I had in me, but it wasn't enough. Even drugged he was so much stronger than me. Tears were streaming down my face, I started screaming for help. He put his hand on my throat, "Scream again and I'll break your neck."

He was still having trouble focusing but I felt him push his hand up my dress. I laid there knowing what was coming, praying that Edward would rescue me. But he didn't come. James had managed to roughly make his hand through my underwear and he had started to push a finger inside me, pain horrible pain.

He suddenly became limp, passed out on top of me.

"Oh god." I cried out as I tried to push his body off of mine. I couldn't stop crying; once I was free I got up as fast as possible. My body hurt all over, my face felt like it had been hit by a truck. I grabbed my coat and purse and stumbled out of his house. I didn't know where to go I was almost in the middle of nowhere. I needed to get away from the house just in case that stuff wore off fast but I had nowhere to go. I remembered then I had my cell phone in my purse so I made a hiding place in the bushes next to the house.

I took out my phone. I couldn't call Edward even though I was scared; I think a part of me was more scared of what Edward would do. I decided to call Alice.

"You have reached the lovely and talented Alice Whitlock." She sang.

"Alice" I managed to mutter out.

"Bella? Is everything ok?" She quickly became serious.

"Alice I need you to do me a favor. Can you come pick me up? Please don't tell anyone." I pleaded.

"What happened, Bella?"

"I need you to hurry." My voice broke. But she complied. I gave her the address and prayed she would get here fast. I sat outside in the bushes in the dark, praying. It didn't sound like anything was happening in the house but I had seen enough horror movies to know that it wasn't over till the bad guy was dead. I couldn't allow myself to get comfortable any moment he could come running out in a rampage.

Alice finally arrived and I ran to the car quickly as possible, yet when I opened the door it wasn't Alice driving. It was Emmett. I looked at him in shock; my one eye straining to open was now swollen.

Emmett looked me over as I sat down in the front seat. His eyes turned murderous, he opened his door and got out. I started shouting for him to come back. Emmett yelled at me to stay in the car, he ran into the house so fast, I didn't know what to do. I could faintly hear crashing noises, I sat there with my hands in my face sobbing. This was entirely my fault, if I hadn't been so determined to go against Edward none of this would have ever happened.

A couple more minutes passed and Emmett finally exited the house, he stomped down to the car and roughly got in. "I'm sorry." I said softly. "Sorry, you're sorry. Bella! Edward told you what kind of a guy he was. Why the hell would you go running off to him?" Emmett's voice rose with every word. "You and Edward have got to get your shit together. You have a perfectly great guy sitting in front of you, but you still want to go for the psychopath."

"I didn't know he was a psychopath, I just wanted to be...wanted. I don't deserve someone like Edward. Before tonight, James could have been a respectful alternative. People like me don't get to end up with people like you or Edward." I defended.

"People like what? Celebrities? You think that the only way we get to be happy is if we end up with another celebrity. Have you ever read US Weekly? Every other cover is a celebrity divorce."

"I'm not saying just celebrities, ugh never mind you could never understand." I looked out my window determined to not look at him the rest of the way home.

"You're right Bella. I don't understand. I don't understand how you could have someone like Edward who is completely head over heels for you and you just treat him like he isn't worth anything. If you don't get your head out of your ass, you are going to miss the best man out there."

We pulled up the driveway. We both got out, I was determined to get to my room and finish my night with a crying jag. I made it to the stairs, when I heard Alice and Edward approach. Emmett called after me. "Bella come back here." Long gone was the crazy joker Emmett.

I slowly turned to face them. Alice gasped. Edward came forward to take a closer look when he got about a foot in front of me he stopped. His eyes held more anger then Emmett's, I suddenly became very frightened. "That son of a bitch." He spit out, he went around me towards the front door, but Emmett caught him.

"Stop bro, I already took care of it. Alice can you help Bella get ready for bed." Alice nodded and walked with me upstairs. I could still hear Emmett and Edward talking in hushed voices when I reached the top. I couldn't find it in me to care.

Once we were in my room Alice helped lift my dress over my head and put on my pajamas. The place where James had kicked me was really starting to hurt. I pulled off what was left of my underwear and threw them in the trash. My eyes started watering. "Oh god, Bella. He didn't rape you did he?" Alice asked with tears forming in her own eyes. I slowly shook my head and walked over to the bed. Just as Alice was helping me in, Edward arrived.

"I'll take it from here, Alice." He was calmer than before, good I don't think I could stand a lecture right now. He came and sat on the bed with me, in his hand was a piece of meat.

"Lay your head down, this will help with the swelling." He said as he placed the meat on the violated side of my face.

"I'm so sorry, Edward." I paused. "I know I deserve this."

"Hey! Nobody ever deserves something like this." He was mad. I can't blame him.

"Bella, we both messed up, we screwed up and unfortunately you were the one to pay the price. I should have stopped you. I could have stopped you; you may have hated me for it but at least then you would have been safe. I am so sorry. I failed you, all I wanted to do was at least protect you and I failed."

"It's not your job to protect me, bad things happen. I'm not your responsibility." I said sadly.

"It was so hard for me to give you time that you asked for. I thought the best way was to step back and leave you be, hoping you would come around and realize that you wanted me to. But all that did was leave you to run off to someone else's arms. I don't want to take time anymore, if you don't want people knowing about us then fine we will hide our relationship from the world, but please just give me a chance to prove to you how much I lo… I care for you. I want to be exclusive. And yes Bella it is my job to protect you, even if that means protecting you from yourself. I am no longer going to sit back and allow you to make poor choices without proper consequences."

My head was spinning, I wasn't sure if it was the pain or Edwards declaration. I had to think for a moment. If Edward truly wanted to be with me and I truly wanted to be with him, I needed to start trusting him. Edward had always been trustworthy in the past, like Emmett said I needed to give this kind and good man a chance before the opportunity for happiness past me by. I needed to stop being so stubborn and allow myself joy in life. Edward and I were both stubborn creatures but it was time to allow ourselves this. I know it may not be easy down the road; we both like to think we are right. But I would rather fight with Edward, then not have Edward at all.

I looked at his face; he looked desperate for some kind of answer from me. "Okay Edward. I want to give us a chance."

He closed his eyes taking in my words and then slowly leaned down and kissed my cheek. "You won't regret it Isabella Swan."

He lifted the meat from off my face and placed it back on the plate. "How are you feeling? Is there anything I can get you?"

My stomach hurts where he kicked me. Do you have any Tylenol?" I realized quickly that I hadn't told him what exactly happened between James and I. His face was suddenly outraged. "He kicked you?"

"Uh. Yeah." I muttered.

"I am so sorry Bella." He looked damaged.

"Please don't be sorry, my fault remember. Well me and my hard headedness."

"I'll go get you a pain reliever." He got up from the bed and took the plate with meat on it with him.

He was back entirely too fast, he had to have run up and back. He went to my bathroom and got a glass of water and brought it to me with two pills in his hand. I swallowed them then laid back down.

"Bella can I see where he kicked you? I want to make sure it's not more serious then we think." I slowly lifted my nightgown making sure the sheet was at least covering my lower half. He ran his hands over the newly bruised area. He exhaled and brought my nightgown back down. It sounded absurd but just thinking what happened started to scare me. What if James came after me and finished what he had started. I began crying again, I knew it was exhaustion but I couldn't find it in me to stop.

Edward climbed over me to lay down beside me, he took me in his arms and held me rocking me gently. "I switched the drinks when he wasn't looking, if I hadn't switched the drinks…it was twenty minutes into our meal when he became affected by the drug he had meant for me. I have to admit I did taunt him, he had a hard time focusing and an even worse time standing. When he landed the first blow to my face I quickly realized just how bad this was going to get." Edward rubbed my back with small circles. "He kicked me when I was on the ground and the landed on top of me, he was so heavy and so strong I was even having trouble screaming for help. He grabbed my throat and told me he'd break my neck if I screamed again. His hand was under my dress and he was violently trying to attack me, he had just ripped the underwear and placed his finger…when he passed out." My tears were soaking his shirt. "Why was I so stupid? Why didn't I listen to you? " I wept.

"It's over now Bella, he won't touch you again. I promise to protect you. Sleep now sweetheart, I'll be right here when you wake in the morning." I closed my eyes. And fell asleep.


	12. CHAPTER TWELVE

I heard his heart beat before I could register that it was Edward's. He stayed with me the whole night and like Edward had said I felt protected and safe in his arms. I heard him groan and felt him stretching; I decided to remain silent trying to experience this ecstasy for as long as possible. Maybe if Edward thought I was asleep, he would stay right where he was.

"I know you're awake." I froze. I think my rigid body gave me away. Edward wormed his way deeper under the sheets his face now resting in the crook of my neck as his hands roamed up and down my body, thankfully taking into account the sore area near my stomach. He began kissing me, well if this was how I was going to be treated by remaining silent. A mime I shall become. "You think I don't know your sleeping patterns well enough to know when you're faking." His breath was tickling me, I couldn't help but giggle.

"What are you talking about? My sleeping patterns, have you been perving on me while I've been napping?"

"Of course, you're beautiful when you sleep, so peaceful." He leaned up on his side so he could look at me in the face. "Let me see that eye of yours." He placed his hand gently on my face I began to pull away when where he touched, hurt.

"It's pretty bad, well we are definitely not going in to work today." He started to get up from the bed.

"Wait what do you mean? We have to go to work; we can't expect them to hold up filming for this stupid black eye."

"Bella, its fine Emmett doesn't need me today. In fact I have a very important task for you today, I know you are in pain but this would really help me out. Do you think you can help?"

"Of course." I said instantly.

"Okay wait right here, I will be back like in twenty minutes, it's going to take me a little bit of time to prepare it, I will come to you when its ready." Whatever international man of mystery.

"Do you want me to come with you? I can help." I asked confused by his request.

"No you are perfect; I mean that you're perfect." He came back and briefly kissed me on the lips and took off for downstairs.

I had just returned from the bathroom after performing my morning ritual, when Edward arrived with a big tray in his hands.

"Ok, come on. Back into bed you go." Edward corralled me into the bed placing the tray next to me.

"Where's this big project?" I asked baffled looking at the scrambled egg and bacon combo.

"You already completed it, I needed you to wait here why I brought you breakfast in bed." He put a napkin on my lap and handed me silverware. "And you did beautifully." He was talking to me like I was a dog waiting for a snausages, I was not amused.

He saw the irritation on my face, "Bella what would you have done if I asked you to wait here why I went down and made you breakfast?"

"I would have gotten dressed and come down and joined you." Duh.

"Exactly! You never listen to directions. If I ask you to do something, I need to trust that you are going to do it. If I don't trust you then that leads me to use manipulation." Ok now I was really irritated.

"So what if I ask you to do something? What if I tell you to take me to work today, because obviously I am having a little trouble seeing out of one eye and need your driving services for the day."

"Then I would say "No." I have one rule, when it comes to your safely and well-being then you will listen to me or there will be consequences." Woah, back that ship up.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I said with a slightly more raised voice then was necessary. "Edward you…" I was so mad I couldn't even form thoughts, and one had to have thoughts before there could be words.

"Isabella, what happened the last time you went against me?" a flash of James on top of me entered my head I shuttered and my tears started to pool in my eyes. He saw how visibly upset I was at his statement, so he immediately climbed into bed to hold me. "I'm sorry; I shouldn't have brought that up." My head was on his chest as he pet my hair.

"Bella, I told you there would be some things that you wouldn't like about me. Call it controlling, domineering, call it whatever you like, but I will not compromise your health, safety or well-being. I will always do what I think is best, because I want us to live a long and happy life together." I slowly nodded my head. "You have no idea how much you mean to me."

He reached for the tray of the forgotten food placing it on our laps, he began to scoop up some eggs and bring them to my mouth. I pulled back and gave him a look, "Contrary to what you may think, Mr. Cullen I am not child. I can feed myself."

He smiled, "I'm not sure baby Swan, I wouldn't want you to stab yourself with this mighty sharp fork." I grabbed the fork from him and ate the contents. "I'm watching you mister, pretty soon you'll have me in Pampers and a onesie."

He lifted his hands in the air, surrendering, "Ok, I can promise you that is definitely not a fetish I can get on board with."

We spent the rest of the morning eating in bed and talking about this and that. In the afternoon I finally managed to whine enough to get Edward to allow us to go downstairs. I think he must have thought that I was either going to make a break for it and try and find a way to work or I would find a task to focus on that would be to taxing for my body. He made me promise him that I would stick to the family room mainly the couch. I mean yeah I was sore and my face still hurt a lot but I was pretty sure there were coma patients getting more exercise then I. Of course when I told Edward this, he didn't seem very amused.

Edward and I compromised on a couple of movies to watch and true to my word I hardly left the couch except to go to the bathroom. We both must have fallen asleep on the couch I woke up to Alice cooing at us, "Ah don't they look so adorable, don't they look adorable, Jasper? Let's take a picture."

"You do and you're dead." I mumbled.

Alice narrowed her eyes, looking kind of evil, "yeah? You were a lot more adorable when you were sleeping."

"I have to agree, Bella is more adorable when she sleeps." Edward welcomed himself to our conversation. I promptly elbowed him.

"You know it was my sparkling personality that caught your eye in the first place, don't lie." Edward rolled his eyes.

Alice and Jasper had brought home take out that evening. Say what you want about Alice, the girl may not know how to cook, but damn could she order food. There was enough for left overs all weekend, of course I wasn't allowed to go anywhere the whole weekend so at least I had plenty to eat. Edward said that if I wanted to go back to work on Monday, I needed to take it easy and rest this weekend or else he may not allow me to accompany them to set Monday morning.

Sometimes that man really frustrated the hell out of me, but I can't complain too much Edward had turned out to be amazing that weekend. He made it his mission to take care of me every single day. He doted on me, cooked for me; everything was on track to being perfect.

There must be something in the universe that states that one person cannot be too happy. It might throw off the balance of happiness everywhere. If you're happy in your personal life then somewhere it had to be mandated for your professional life to take a turn for the crapshoot. So far I have had almost nothing but positive days from work. People were getting to know me; I was making friends left and right. For the first time I really felt like I belonged somewhere. Every person treated me with respect, except one.

Lauren Mallory. It was like she went out of her way to make my life a living hell. I tried to avoid her like the pestilent plague she was, but she always managed to come out of nowhere. She'd snap her little fingers at me and call me to her like I was some kind of dog. She had given me the moniker "fat girl" even though I always tried to correct her with my name. I knew that there was a possibility that in the near future one of us would be taken out.

"Hey, fat girl go get me some cigs." She would snap while throwing a wadded up bill in my face.

"Miss Mallory, I am not your assistant." I tried to say calmly. Dear lord how I felt sorry for her two assistants, both of them were so high-strung I felt that at any moment one of them would combust.

"Do I look like I care?" Now she was mad, "You are a personal assistant; your job is to assist me. You better get your lazy fat ass in gear or I will fire you." She didn't yell which was one thing I guess you could say was a positive. But she spoke with such venom in her voice she didn't have to yell to get her point across.

I know you are probably wondering why I just didn't tell Edward of the abuse I had to endure. This wasn't Edwards fight, it was mine and unfortunately if you ever decided to get into entertainment, Lauren was a good example of type of person you may have to work for. I'd say eighty-five percent of the people in Hollywood were Lauren's.

I complied with Miss Mallory's demands. Whether it was cig runs, tampon runs or any other thing her little heart desired I was her girl. Sometimes I find that she'd call me over just to harass me. I tried my best to keep it together but flashbacks to my early childhood would begin to creep in and I couldn't help the tears that fell. Of course this would always make Lauren feel triumphant; she would be quick to point them out to anyone standing nearby.

Word spread to the other crew members of my torture and most of them would give me nods or words of motivation. Even Carl the cranky D.P. came over to me one afternoon and told me that he would be more than happy to talk with the lighting people to help accentuate Laurens physical negatives. I was touched, but told him I didn't want to compromise Emmett's film. He told me to hang in there, that Lauren would get her comeuppance someday.

It had been three weeks into our new relationship, and everything was still wonderful with Edward. However, when we would say good night and go to our respective rooms, that's when the battle started for me. I hadn't had a decent night's sleep since the night Edward slept in my bed with me. Nightmares of James plagues my dreams every night and I would usually wake up sweaty or in tears. For once I was actually looking forward to naps, trying to take them when I knew Edward was around. Just Edward's presence in the room was enough to keep the nightmares away.

Of course my sleep deprivation did little to improve my attitude and there were a couple of times when Edward warned me if I continued I wouldn't like the result.

"You know what, Edward. I could give two shits about my attitude; you don't know the first thing that's going on in my life. I have to deal with bitchy drama queens, I haven't slept in weeks and all I want to do is pay someone to knock me out." I dropped to the ground crying. Oh yeah I had officially lost it.

"What do you mean you haven't slept for weeks?" he gently asked looking down at me.

"I'm such a mess, I have nightmares every night. I even have become scared to go to bed. I took up crocheting to keep my mind busy so I could keep myself awake longer. I can only sleep when I take naps and you're around."

"Why didn't you tell me? Bella you have to tell me these things." He crouched down beside me.

"What are you going to do?" I dismissed him.

He stood back up and bent over to help lift me back to my feet. He took me by the hand and brought me upstairs. I had never been in his room before, but it was twice the size of my room. I still do not understand why the man needed a king size bed, you know how many people could fit in a bed that size. I just hoped he never tested that notion out.

Edward and I have had a few intense make out sessions up to this point with some mild groping so I was a little nervous when we had arrived at his bed. However, Edward was the perfect gentleman; he would hold me; rub my back and gently kiss me nothing more. After that incident he would invite me to sleep with him every night and I finally got the sleep that was much needed.

One night we stayed up just talking, we eventually started playing twenty questions. The questions were mild and I can't honestly tell you what any of them were except that was the night I had stupidly let Edward know that my biggest fear was needles. A decision I had come to regret many years after. I do remember that the line of questioning eventually turned mighty steamy.

Edward started off softly kissing me, I felt him lean over me applying some of his weight. He rubbed his hands up and down the sides of my body as his kisses started attacking my neck. I started shivering oh my god did this feel good; I didn't even have time to think when he slowly undid my top and began to pay homage to my breasts. I started to feel the effect he was making all over my body. His mouth was gently sucking on one while his hand massaged the other, but in that moment I wanted his hands someplace else. I could feel myself starting to come undone. "Oh please. Please" I quietly begged.

He complied and brought his hand down resting his palm right below my stomach, he didn't try to remove my underwear, he just placed two fingers over my clit and began making small circles, applying pressure, no pressure, applying pressure. He knew exactly what to do to make me go crazy. His mouth had been switching between my breasts and he was doing the same up top he would vary between sucking and gently biting my nipples.

The world's problems had been solved, cures had been made and in that awesome moment of clarity it felt like I could literally do anything. I had completely lost all control of my body so much so I felt so much moisture between my legs, Oh god please tell me I didn't pee on him. Who cares. "That was the most amazing feeling ever." I was still breathing slightly heavier than normal. "Oh my god, Oh my god my heart won't stop fluttering." Edward leaned over and laughed kissing me on the temple. He was smiling down at me. He started to get up, "Geez baby you act like you've never had an orgasm before."

Oh god. Was that what I experienced? If I had only known sooner that my body could feel this good, I might have chosen a completely different career path. It all the sudden occurred to me, that there had been something big I had failed to tell Edward. Oh shit, what was he going to think? It had been obvious from gossip rags that Edward had his share of women before me and if that didn't tell me, his little performance would have definitely clued me in. But how was Edward going to feel when he found out that I was a virgin. Virgins in Hollywood were not exactly commonplace. The entertainment industry was famous for swallowing them up and spitting them out within seconds.

Would Edward think I was a freak or a loser because I was a 21-year-old virgin? Wait a 22-year-old virgin damn that sounded way more pathetic. Stupid birthday! I had worked myself into quiet a frenzy; I couldn't face Edward so before he had come back I escaped back to my bedroom. This time I had remembered to lock the door. I got under the covers, pulling them up over my head.

In true Edward fashion he had shown up within seconds. He didn't even knock; he tried the handle and realizing that something was wrong he instantly banged on the door. "Bella, open the door." I didn't say anything maybe if I didn't answer he would think I was somewhere else and go away. This was a sure pickle I had gotten myself into.

"Bella I know you're in there." Crap. "If you don't open this door I will get the key." Double crap.

"Edward I don't feel well, I'm going to bed." My little voice squeaked out.

I heard his retreating steps. I let out a sigh of relief. I will face him tomorrow and that will give me plenty of time to come up with an explanation. I heard the lock turn; I threw myself back under the covers. I felt the weight being added to my bed. "What happened?" I heard him sigh. "It was too much too fast, wasn't it? Honey will you at least look at me."

I couldn't look at him I was much too embarrassed. "I'm so stupid, Edward." I sniffled.

"Bella you're not stupid, I will not hear you talk about yourself like this. Please just look at me." I wasn't compiling so Edward started to try to wrestle me out from under the covers. He was strong there was no contest. He held my arms down over the covers, his face within inches of mine. "Talk to me." He encouraged.

"I didn't tell you something, something big. I'm afraid of how you'll take it. I don't know if you'll be mad or think I'm pathetic."

"I would never think you were pathetic." He cut me off from the long list of descriptive words I was prepared to give him. "Just tell me what it is and we will come up with a way to deal with it."

"I'm a virgin." I breathed out.

He paused there looking at me, his facial features never changing from the way it was before I gave him the diagnosis. "Oh." He finally said. "Okay, well um there's nothing wrong with that sweetheart. I just wished you would have told me sooner, I would have taken things way slower."

"Well I liked what you did tonight. I had never felt that way before, like ever."

He gave a small laugh, "Well honey, uh we probably won't be doing that again for a little while. I think we need to work on building trust with one another, I don't want you ever feeling like you can't tell me something or feel like we are moving too fast." He stood back up and put out his hand, "Let's go to bed, baby." I would follow him anywhere, because you always follow the ones you love.


	13. CHAPTER THIRTEEN

After my little confession, Edward hadn't touched me intimately since. I was beyond frustrated, it was like being given the keys of a brand new Porsche and then saying you can look but not touch or drive the car. I now understood why women masturbated, I had never tried it myself but I was starting to think about it. When Edward gave me my first orgasm he had released a beast that could not be caged. I found myself sitting around and my mind would wander to those precious moments. I'd start to smile and then squirm in my chair, and then my face would heat up. If Edward caught me during one of these moments he'd give me a stern look and shake his head.

I was sexually frustrated and I hadn't even had sex yet! Don't think I hadn't tried with Edward. I started slutting up my nighttime clothes and when we would start to kiss I was being far more aggressive than usual. But he wasn't having it; I have to say it really started messing with my mind. I know he's had many sexual conquests before, what was it about me that made him put the brakes on. It couldn't be the virgin thing, I mean my god it wasn't like there was a shortage of virgins in the world. Maybe he thought of me like an endangered species.

What if he wasn't attracted to me? Maybe during my moment of bliss I made some horrible sex face and it had turned him off. And every time he thought of doing more he would picture that gnarly face I made. Maybe I was too chubby for him, he had seen supermodel bodies before and maybe just the site of my curves and pooch made him nauseous. Maybe Lauren was right about me and all he saw when he looked at me was a "fat girl." All these thoughts were running around in my head and it didn't help matters when his ex-girlfriend appeared at the front door.

I was sitting on a bar stool waiting for Edward to get home, I had opened a bottle of liquor from his cabinet and started drinking the repulsive substance. By the third glass it didn't taste so bad. I was thinking of how I got to this point.

I was watching television, waiting for everyone to get back because I was in desperate need of some entertainment. I heard a knock at the front door, that's strange everyone here has a key why would they knock. For a fleeting second I became scared, wondering if it was James. I carefully looked through the peep hole and saw a girl standing there. I unlocked the door and cracked it open.

"Hello?" I asked.

The girl looked at me like I was a cockroach, "Who are you?"

"You knocked on my door, who are you?" I wasn't about to take crap from a stranger.

"I'm Edward Cullen's girl friend." She snapped.

Pause for commercial break.

I knew who she was but I wasn't about to let her come barging in here so freely. "Yeah, we get that all the time, Edward's not here right now, but I'll be sure to have his fan club send you an autographed picture."

That pissed her off, she had been holding two bags, another suitcase on the ground beside her. She huffed throwing her bags to the ground.

"Do you know who I am?" she shrieked.

"Do you know how much I don't care?" Maybe I was taking my issues with Lauren out on her but I was through with this so called Hollywood royalty. She was Cynthia Moore another diva actress who made a couple of big budget films and all the sudden felt like she was big shit.

She managed to push her way in, "You can bring those up to my room." She waved her little hand at the abandon luggage.

"I'm not your servant." Stay calm, Bella.

"Oh really just what are you then."

"I'm Edward's personal assistant."

"Exactly, which by extension means that you are my personal assistant. Tell Eddie I'll be upstairs waiting naked." She gave me a bitchy smirk and flipped around to climb the stairs.

Maybe this is why Eddie wasn't messing around with me; he still was with Cynthia Moore.

As I said I was on my third glass when Edward came in with Alice and Jasper. He saw me sitting at the bar with the bottle next to me.

"Welcome home Eddie." I stumbled off the stool. They all looked at me in astonishment.

"Isabella, that was a five thousand dollar bottle of whiskey." If the situation had been funny I would have found his face comical.

"Oh well Eddie, consider this my two week notice." Oh I was tipsy. Edward came over to me, "What is the matter with you?" he grabbed my wrist and started pulling me out of the room. I stopped myself pulling my wrist free from his grasp. He smacked my ass hard and pointed, "Upstairs now." He bellowed.

"Oh I would love to go upstairs, but it's a little crowded at the moment." I spit. That stunned him. "Your little girlfriend Cynthia Moore came by today, she told me to tell you she'd be waiting naked in your bed. Be sure to hold onto that one, she's real special."

I walked over to the backdoor, he looked like he was still in shock, "Maybe she'll be able to satisfy your sexual needs, because I know I haven't been able to."

I slammed the back door and took off down the hill towards the lake. I could hear Alice chasing after me screaming my name but I didn't stop until I got to the dock. I was gasping for breath as the events set into my head. Alice slammed into me and just hugged me while I broke down. She started pulling me to the house but I stopped her. "I can't go back in there."

She took me aboard the yacht, instead. There was a small bedroom she led me to; I instantly flopped down on it. She sat by my side and petted my head. "I really don't think there is anything going on between them. She's a bitch, he knows that." She tried to console me but it wasn't working.

"It doesn't matter if she's a bitch, if she puts out that's all that matters."

Alice stayed with me until Edward arrived. I had just about dozed off, when I heard him enter. He came in and sat in the chair beside the bed. He placed his hand on my head, I cringed away, "Don't touch me."

"Bella she's gone. I haven't been with Cynthia in almost a year. I don't know what she said to you, but it wasn't true. I am not happy that she desiccated our bed. What makes you think for a second that I would either cheat on you or go back to her."

I sat up, pushing myself as far from him as possible. "I don't know Edward, maybe because you've been together before, or because she is drop dead gorgeous and genetics wise deserves to be with someone like you. Or maybe it's because you don't seem attracted to me, it makes sense that you'd go to her to fulfill your needs."

"You think that I'm not attracted to you?" he stated. I don't know why he was getting huffy; it wasn't like one of my boyfriends showed up naked. "Bella, I have to take multiple cold showers a day to control my urges, it doesn't help that you started wearing lingerie to bed and I can see and feel your amazing body beckoning me.

"Then why won't you touch me? Ever since I told you I was a virgin you've treated me like I'm leper. Do you know what that's done to me? I've had a thousand negative thoughts run through my head as to what I did wrong. Did I make a bad sex face, were you turned off by my body was my pussy to wet." God Bella you really could've left that last one off.

"When you first told me you were a virgin I have to admit it did catch me off guard but I never once thought that it was a bad thing. I've never been with a virgin before. I don't want to rush into taking something that precious away. I could never regret having sex with you but a girl's first time is often regretted. I don't want to be the cause of your regret. When you and I are ready then it will happen and I hope that it's magical for you because I already know that it's going to be perfect for me because it will be with you. I will be honored to share that moment with you." He finished his speech.

I sat there for a moment trying to grasp his words. Okay maybe I had overreacted just a tad. "Really? You don't find me repulsive?" I scooted forward a little.

"How could you ever think that, silly girl? There isn't a part on you that does not drive me crazy."

"Okay, fight over." I declared. He smiled and joined me on the bed, pulling me into his lap.

"So I guess this means I have to pay you back for that bottle of whiskey. I am sorry about that I had no idea it was that expensive. Seemed like a good idea at the time." I mumbled.

"It's okay baby, I forgive you. You really should think things through though before reacting, because honey if you ever go into the liquor cabinet again without my permission you won't sit for a week."

Huh? What does sitting have to do with drinking? The memory of him slapping me on the butt when we were just in the house flashed in my mind. I started to stare up at him with my jaw hanging open. He wasn't serious, was he? The look in his eyes told me that yes, yes he was serious.

I think the only person that was happy about the events that transpired was Emmett. He gave me a massive high-five for opening up the whiskey bottle something he had been trying to get Edward to do for years. Emmett drank quite a bit of it that evening proclaiming a toast to me before every glass, of course those toasts became harder and harder to understand the further down the bottle went. Finally Edward cut him off stating that he was setting a bad example. Emmett retaliated by giving me a huge sloppy kiss, I don't know why Edward was pissed off I was the one who had a water show happen on my face.

The next couple of days had passed with no incident, things went back to normal. Edward was a great boyfriend. Check. I still had a job. Check. Lauren was still a big pain in my ass. Double check. See everything was normal.

Alice and I had really become such great friends, she was the first person I had felt comfortable with sharing my feelings and personal stuff to since Angela. She was helping me become more girly and in return I was helping her expand her taste in music.

Ever since I received that I-pod from Edward, I had filled it with all the artists I loved. In fact I had been educating all the people in the house with my music. Edward would let me play whatever I wanted when we were driving to set, and I took it upon myself to introduce them to an up and coming band, we'll call Liberty Project. Liberty Project was an alternative band who had recently released their first studio backing album, I fell in love with them instantly. I managed to get everyone in the house to love them too; even Jasper who rarely talked with me told me how much he had enjoyed the album.

Alice wanted to tan one Sunday afternoon and bugged me until I gave in, she said that I was far too pale and that tanning would make me look less vampirish. Leave it to Alice to decide to go when our backyard was already covered in shade.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Where exactly are we going to tan Alice, the shade has already set in. I plan on going back upstairs and change out of my swimsuit." I could see her pout setting in, the words that came out of my mouth next I still regret. "Don't give me that look, you know I'm right. Unless you plan on tanning in the middle of the lake."

Her eyes lit up like someone had just told her they were releasing the new Prada line early. "That's it! Oh Bella you're a genius." She went behind the kitchen counter and grabbed something. "We can take the boat." She held the keys up in her hand. This can't be good.

"No way! That was one of Edward's rules for the house. No boat unless either Emmett or him were around to drive it." I'm no fool.

"Oh come on Bella, I know how to drive the boat, we'll be fine." You know those moments in life when you become pressured into doing something you know is wrong but you just want to get in right with the cool kids. Well here I was twenty-two years old and still struggling like I was part of some after school special.

Alice had begun bouncing, while chanting my name. "Alright fine." I huffed.

I'm going straight to hell.

I once ditched class my senior year of high school, my friend at the time told me that I had to at least ditch once in my academic career. It was the final class of the day and I remembered looking around in a panic as I walked off campus. I was a nervous wreck in fact when my mother got home that night I instantly told her what I had done because I felt so horrible. Of course she just laughed and it was never mentioned again.

Right now as we walked down to the dock in our swimsuits and cover ups, just like senior year I was looking around in a panic. Alice just shook her head and marched onward.

We arrived at the boat; this thing seemed way bigger than before. Alice put the key in and started it; she was having trouble figuring out what to do next.

"What about the anchor?" I asked.

"Oh that's right, let me figure out where that is?" she looked around.

"Good job Skipper you don't even know where the anchor is?" I slapped her shoulder.

"Just give me a minute."

The boat was making this weird noise, like it was trying to take off. I looked up at the house and instantly dropped to the floor. I saw Edward running towards the boat, Alice looked up and shouted, "Crap" she looked down and me, "Bella crawl over to the other side so he won't see you. There's no need for both of us to get into trouble." I did what I was told; a few moments later I could hear Edward coming aboard.

"Alice! What in the hell are you doing." I could feel the anger rolling of Edward.

"Well I was trying to get the boat to move to the middle of the lake so that I could tan." She said in the smallest voice.

"Are you out of your mind? Do you know how dangerous that is; you don't even know how to work this boat. Are you here by yourself?"

"Yes."

I heard him turn off the boat. "There is no way a person should operate this boat by themselves, you need two people just to help park it. You are in so much trouble, Alice."

I felt really bad I mean here was Alice getting reamed for something we both did; I know that this was her fault but I should have talked her out of it. Me and my stupid conscious. I stepped out from where I was hiding. "She wasn't alone." Edward's head snapped in my direction I could see the change in his eyes, if he wasn't mad before he was definitely mad now.

"Both of you up to the house, now." He pointed his finger towards the house and we both single filled off the boat. Alice said quietly out of the side of her mouth, "What are you doing? I had it covered."

"Silence both of you." Edward's voice made me jump. Oh shit! OH Shit! OH SHIT!

We arrived back at the house and immediately Edward yelled for Jasper. As soon as Jasper appeared Edward started filling him in. "I found these two on the boat trying to get it started after I specifically told both of them that the boat was off limits." Oh god the severity of my actions had started setting in. Was he going to fire me? I mean when he told me those rules I was just an employee; he wouldn't fire his own girlfriend would he? Since I had become his girlfriend maybe I have not been acting as professional as I once had.

"Alice, I want you to go to our room, I'll be there in a moment." Jasper said calmly, man why wasn't Jasper my boyfriend. He didn't even seem fazed at all. Alice gave me a sad look and went upstairs.

"Bella go upstairs and wait on our bed." I turned to leave; maybe I should just go to my room and pack. It would be a lot easier packing when there weren't tears obstructing my vision. I was turning out to be a pretty shitty assistant. But I might as well just get this over with.

I entered Edward's bedroom and sat down on the bed. I must have waited for twenty minutes; I mean come on what was taking him so long.

By the time he had arrived I was a nervous wreck. I immediately started talking, "Look I know what I did was wrong; however since it is Sunday I would like to point out that I did this bad thing not during working hours. I just thought that I'd let you know that before you fired me."

"You think I'm going to fire you?" he seemed confounded.

"You're not?" Oh thank you Jesus. I let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm going to give you an option." This was never a good sign, it's like asking would you rather be hanged or beheaded.

"Bella, would you like your punishment to be based on you being my employee or you being my girlfriend?"

Yep hanged or beheaded.

He continued, "I am going to warn you though, if you decide to go with my girlfriend option, I will spank you." Of all the Edwards to come into my life, I had to end up with 1920's Edward.

I put my head in my hands and muttered, "I'm so confused."

"You know what you're asking is completely preposterous." I huffed. "I'm 22. I'm not a child."

"Then why do you insist on acting like one?" That's a low blow. I started to say something but he cut me off even before the first syllable fell out of my mouth.

"Isabella, domestic discipline is not uncommon, it's an old fashioned principle but we believe it works. I hold responsibility for you. Contrary to what you may believe, I am responsible for ensuring your health, safety and overall well-being. You have the responsibly to me to make wise choices concerning these areas. When you decide to go against this and endanger yourself and our relationship then I have the obligation to take corrective action so that the next time you come across a conundrum you will hopefully look back and make a wiser decision."

I got up and started pacing, "So I don't get a say in this. It's either be my girlfriend and let me beat you or we break up and I can't keep you?" Did that just rhyme? Focus Bella!

"Bella, I'm not going to beat you. I will always use my palm and only on your butt and I will never give you more than you can handle. It will hurt but the pain will be temporary."

"So what's my other option?" I asked remembering I could ask to be punished as an employee.

"I'm not going to tell you."

"That's not fair." I whined.

"Bella you're stalling." He said controlled.

"Well geez Edward! This is a lot to take in. When was the last time you had a boyfriend tell you that he wanted to spank you?"

"Bella, this is about trust. You have to ask yourself, do you trust me? Do you trust me to know what's best for you and more importantly do you trust me to know that I would never go too far? We can't consider that this relationship is serious until we both trust each other."

I could tell he was losing his patience with me. Did I trust him? Yes. I couldn't deny that and the odd thing was I knew I loved him; I would have done anything for him. I loved him so much. I was still afraid to say it though, I couldn't bear the thought of me saying it and him not returning the sentiment. It would crush me. I could do this. So what if it's a little spanking, even though the last time I was spanked other than the slap I received the other day was when I was five. But I was older now, I'm sure it wouldn't hurt that much.

I turned to him and gave a shaky breath. "Ok."

He nodded and sat down at the foot of the bed. "Come here" he said softly.

I stood there staring at him, willing myself to go over to him, but my legs wouldn't move.

"Isabella, the longer you make me wait, the worse it will be."

I took a step back, dammit Bella! My body was in reverse. I started lightly bouncing and fidgeting. I'm sure my face was already contorted into the look I was about to make when I finally did pluck up the courage to go to him. He got up and came to me taking me by the hand.

"This will be the one and only time I come get you. There will be consequences in the futures if you don't do as I say the first time." He sat back down and took me and positioned me over his lap. God this was so humiliating.

"Isabella, I am upset by your actions today; you deliberately disregarded my rules about the boat which is why you're going to be punished."

Yeah yeah move it along. I already know why I'm here your honor. I rolled my eyes.

"Although I will say that I am very proud of you. You could have let Alice take the fall, but you didn't"

Seemed like a good idea at the time, however from where I am right now, I'm not so sure.

He gently lifted the cover up that I had on from earlier and placed his hand down on my butt. I laid there irritated. I don't think he realized how uncomfortable this position was.

"Fuck!" he slammed his hand down on my butt. It caught me off guard.

"Watch your language." He said softly.

I looked back at him, "Well you caught me off guard." I yelled.

"I'd watch your attitude if I were you as well."

I huffed and turned back around. "I'd watch your attitude Isabella" I had whispered it really low and obviously I was mocking him, but I think he caught it because he brought his hand back down again and shouted "Enough"

He slapped his hand back down on my butt once more. Okay wearing a bathing suit offered little protection, I'd really have to bundle up next time. If there was a next time.

By the fifth swat I was fidgeting and it was really starting to hurt. Be brave Isabella, remember the Almo. I don't even know what that means.

By ten I was bawling. I realized just how easy I had it as a child. I threw my hand back to shield my poor once pale white ass.

"Move your arm." He asked calmly.

"No" I blubbered out.

He grabbed a hold of my arm and pinned it to my back and continued.

"Okay, I won't ever touch your stupid boat again." I wailed.

He didn't say anything he just continued on. SMACK. SMACK. And then there was nothing. My body sagged with relief but the tears kept flowing. He had to have spanked me twenty times.

Edward managed to turn me over and pick me up. I was in far too much pain to be impressed with his ability to carry me. He laid me down on the bed and I instantly flipped to my stomach and faced away from him. My tears were still coming.

Edward covered me with a small blanket and kissed my head. Yeah sorry buddy that doesn't actually make it feel all better. Why don't you kiss my ass? Thank god I didn't say that out loud, I have a feeling we both had a very different idea of what that would entail.

I waited until he left and then slowly made my way off the bed. Just because he could punish me didn't mean I had to stay in his bed. I made my way to my bedroom, my ass burning with every step. I heaved myself up on the bed; it had been weeks since I slept in this bed. My intension had been to teach Edward a lesson, but as I laid there all I could think was I wish I was in his bed and I wish he was with me.


	14. CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"Bella, it's time to wake up." I could feel someone shaking me. I tried to push them off.

"Come on beautiful girl, you need to wake up or you're not going to be able to sleep tonight."

"Go away." I mumbled. Then it occurred to me that I was in prime spanking position I immediately turned over. "Ow" I gasped. I was still tender from before. Edward laughed, "Well at least you're up now."

"It's not funny!" I scowled and turned away from him. I started crying again, I mean here I was in pain and he was laughing. Edward got into bed with me and came up behind me and pulled me to him. "I'm sorry baby, I shouldn't have laughed. You did so well today. I'm so proud of you, you have no idea how much it means to me for you to trust me the way you did." He started kissing my neck. Damn it was hard to stay mad at him when he did that.

"Would you like me to help you feel better?" he whispered. I wasn't sure what he was talking about, I couldn't afford to get my hopes up. So I just slowly nodded. He kept kissing my neck and slowly brought his hand down the side of my body resting his fingers on my pleasure mound. I was still wearing my bathing suit from earlier, but unlike the last time he touched me he moved my clothing aside and ran his finger up and down my slit.

I suddenly became brave, "Edward?" I quietly said.

"Yes baby." He replied

"Can I touch you?" He immediately paused what he was doing. "Sweetheart this is about making you feel good."

"Please" I needed to start reciprocating, just the idea of touching Edward made me instantly wet.

He rolled over on his back, I shifted so I could see him, he got up and stripped out of his pants watching me the whole time. He took his cock into his hands and stroked it once. Oh man I was going to come right here. I had never seen a penis in my life, unless you count anatomy books. This didn't look anything like that. I knew that thing was going to be the cause of all my pleasure one day but right now it was pretty intimidating. My hole felt way too small for something of that size to invade it.

He sat back on the bed. Feeling even braver I sat up on my knees and pulled down my bathing suit and took it completely off, it was the first time I had been fully naked in front of someone since I was a toddler. But the look in his eyes was all the encouragement I needed.

I didn't really know what to do with his cock, it's not like I had a lot of experience in this area. I think he could tell what my pause was for because he beckoned me forward.

"Straddle me." I looked at him in shock.

"I..I.. don't know if I'm ready." I loved him but was I ready for sex.

"Trust me." He helped me straddle him. My pussy just inches for his manhood. I could feel him run the tip up and back along my opening. My legs started to wobble.

"Okay maybe I am ready." My mind was in a fog.

Edward came up and kissed me, "Not yet." He whispered. He placed me on my back and settled himself between my legs, his member pushed up against me straining to get in. He began the assault on my breasts while pushing himself up against me. Is this where the term bumping uglies came from?

I wrapped my legs around him trying to push my clit to him as hard as possible. God I needed more, more friction, who knew your body could feel so amazing. I started chanting, "Yes, Yes please yes." I probably would have agreed to anything in that moment.

"Oh baby, I love your body. I worship your body. I can't wait to thrust my cock into your beautiful tight pussy." Edwards's stunning voice saying dirty things was causing me to come undone.

I started to pinch my nipple I could feel Edwards hand weave his way down to my tender flesh, I was so close.

"Honey, are you close? I want to feel your juices run all over my hands." That did it. Oh God yes yes yes. My body instantly relaxed, proud of its accomplishment. Edward kept thrusting, my hands reached his ass and I grabbed on trying to pull him closer, it was a couple seconds later he came, roaring out a "Fuck" I could feel his hot cum squirt out all over my pussy our juices mixing together. He laid on top of me for a minute catching his breath. He kissed me once more and flopped over on his back.

"I proclaim these sheets properly desecrated." I giggled.

Edward's head turned to me and he smiled softly. He just kept looking at me; I started to feel self-conscious so I pulled the sheet up.

"No way baby you look perfect." He leaned over and took my sheet away. "I love when you laugh you look so happy." He leaned down and kissed my chest right over my heart.

"Well I am happy." I told him.

"You don't hate me for punishing you?" I thought about that. I furrowed my forehead. "You think I hate you? I could never hate you. I don't like what you did. Other than the overall pain I felt, I think I'm just confused, I mean it's weird."

"I understand, it's not a typical relationship, and I know it's hard to get used to but it means a lot to me that you would at least try and accept this part of me and not just give up on us."

Right then my stomach growled ruining whatever kind of moment we were having. Edward got up and brought a towel to me. He lowered the sheets and started cleaning me up. It was a surprisingly intimate gesture. Once he was done he told me that dinner was downstairs and to come when I was ready.

I went to the bathroom and stared at myself for a moment I tried to look at my butt in the mirror. It was a tad bit pink still. I can't really remember all the different emotions that went through my head. Edward had said that he would always use his hand and would never give me more then I could handle. At the time I believed every word. I wish I could say that he remained true to his word but unfortunately a year later he broke his promise and it almost broke us. But we'll get to that another time.

It was a week later when there came a knock on the door, after the last visitor I was a little wary to answer it.

"Edward maybe you should answer it, that way you can turn them away before they have a chance to get naked in your bed." I told him, we had been running lines for the scene he was going to shoot the next day. Oh and on a side note, I made Edward trash those disgusting sheets that Cynthia rolled around in.

Edward swatted me with the script before taking off to the front door. I heard quite a commotion taking place in the foyer so I went to investigate. At the door were Edward's cousin Carlisle Cullen and his wife Esme. Carlisle was an actor as well; he had done mostly big budget action films. He was married to Esme a true Cinderella tale in itself. She was a waitress who waited on Carlisle one evening and within a month they were married.

I wasn't sure if Edward was going to tell his cousin about me I was hoping not, the less people who knew about us the better. I took off for the back stairway to go hide in my room, maybe they would be gone by dinner. Of course they're not going to be gone, it's not like they popped on by Italy for a visit, Bella. Damn this would mean I was going to have to sleep in my own bed again.

I had left some things of mine in Edward's bedroom so I decided to grab them before tonight. I had an arm full of my crap, I had no idea just how much stuff I had in here. Edward came in just as I was about to leave.

"What are you doing?" he asked as he surveyed the contents in my hands.

"I thought I should move back into my room while your cousins here. I don't want him to catch us."

"Bella, come on it's just my cousins, we can tell them."

I started worrying, "Edward the more people who know about this the worse it will be. Please I can't do this right now, if this gets out…OH my god." I started panicking.

"Bella, calm down. Alright we won't tell them, but you have to put that stuff back, I think it would be a tad bit suspicious if I told my cousin that he couldn't stay here because my assistant won't sleep in my bed while he's under our roof."

"EDWARD!" I cried.

"Just kidding! Calm down." He shook his head. He took my things and placed them on the bed. He took a hold of my hand. "Come on time to meet them." I pulled my hand away, "don't touch me while their here." I reprimanded him.

We came downstairs and of course I could hear Emmett already welcoming the guests. I turned to Edward, "Can you tell him not to say anything?"

He sighed and nodded his head.

"Carlisle, Esme I would like you to meet my talented amazing assistant, Bella Swan." He sounded like a ringmaster by the way he announced me. Esme smiled warmly at me and I shook Carlisle's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you." I could see Edward whisper in Emmett's ear, I instantly relaxed.

"Well are you guys hungry I could make us a chicken salad for lunch." Edward asked the guests.

"Oh that would be wonderful, thank you Edward. Would you mind if we sat out on the patio? You have such a lovely view." When Esme spoke it sounded like a wind chimes. She seemed like the calmest person I had ever met.

We were putting lunch together when Alice and Jasper showed up. Alice was instantly excited to have another girl in the house. You'd think Jasper never let her out by the way she grasped on to us women folk.

Esme and Alice set the table together, while I brought out all the condiments. We had all sat down for lunch and once again I seemed to be the topic up for discussion. I guess it was because they all knew one another and I was the odd ball of the group.

"So what is it you would like to eventually do in Hollywood?" Carlisle asked me.

"I'm not sure; there are so many areas in film production that I find interesting. Writing, directing or producing all of them sound great to me."

"Have you thought of acting?" He continued.

"Hell no!" Maybe not the best thing to say when surrounded by actors. "I mean it's not my thing, I get nervous just talking to people in general. Acting scares the hell out of me." Everyone laughed, crisis averted.

Edward was looking around. "Where's the salt."

I scrunched up my nose. "You didn't tell me to bring it."

Edward looked at me like I was stupid, "Well it's a salad of course we need salt."

"You're right, it is a salad. That's disgusting who puts salt on a salad?"

"People might like to have that option, Isabella" Oooo it was on.

I got up dramatically ready to storm off to the kitchen "If you don't stop saying my name like that, I will tell you where you can find your salt shaker." I threatened.

"Isabella Swan." Edward gasped.

"Damn you two should just do it already and get it over with." Carlisle laughed.

Everyone froze. My heart stopped. I stood there staring at him with my mouth opened. Edward just sat there with a smirk on his face. Alice quietly laughed. In those next few seconds it all the sudden clicked in Carlisle's head.

He was instantly out of his chair, "Oh my god, you two are doing it." He said bouncing around while pointing at us.

"Oh my god." I started shaking. "Oh My god." My oh my gods were out doing his oh my gods. I sprung into action. I went to him and started shushing him like the paparazzi was just around the corner. It was pandemonium; Esme was trying to calm down her husband. Emmett couldn't stop laughing. Alice and Jasper were talking to each other. Finally Edward called for attention.

"Everyone calm down. Carlisle we are not doing it." I started to walk toward the house but Edward caught me from around the waist. "Bella and I have been in a serious relationship since September."

"Since September!" Carlisle exclaimed.

"Yes. We aren't just screwing around. I love Bella. We are trying to keep this under wraps for a bit so we'd appreciate if you wouldn't say anything." My mouth finally caught up with my brain.

"You love me?" I was sure there were tears in my eyes, it didn't seem like I could do anything these days without them.

"Of course I do. How could I not."

I let off a small watery smile. "Thank you." I jumped in his arms hugging him.

He held me, "You're welcome?"

"I mean of course I love you too, I was just afraid to say it. I didn't know what you would do, I thought that maybe you would laugh or tell me that this was too fast or break up with me or…" Edward stopped my rambling with a kiss.

"She rambles a lot." Emmett said.

"Shut up Emmett." I growled.

All was right in the world. I loved Edward and for the first time in my life a boy loved me to.

Having Carlisle and Esme around turned out to be a very positive experience. Carlisle would rag on Edward and that was just fine by me. Esme was a sweetheart she was so easy-going; I have to say it was nice having another woman around. There was one weird thing I noticed. Esme like Alice and myself was forced to take naps as well.

I finally plucked up the courage to ask Edward about it. "So are you, Jasper and Carlisle in some kind of cult?" I tried coming off like I was joking but I knew that I was completely serious.

"Why would you say that?" Edward asked.

"Well all three of you impose this belief system on us girly folk. Is it some kind of male chauvinistic thing?" I wasn't trying to be rude but dammit I wanted answers.

"Honey, it has nothing to do with power or women vs. men. There are a few of us who have adopted this lifestyle for one specific reason. I know that in our industry its common place for divorce and breakups to happen, the few of us who subscribe to this "belief system" would never allow a break up to happen. We feel that when we find the person who we are meant to spend the rest of our life with then there is a period of time we take to ensure that the love of our life will be taken care of in every way. I trust every single person in this… group; we all understand that it is all of our duty to protect each other's partners."

Group? My mind instantly wandered to all the people in Hollywood, I might have even been able to guess a few. How many were there? And how the hell have they been able to keep this from TMZ all this time. "Who's all in this group?"

"Myself of course, Jasper, Carlisle and Emmett even though he hasn't found love, the moment he does choose we will all be here to fully support both of them. There are a couple of people back at home which you will meet when the time comes. I have dated many girls as I'm sure US Weekly has filled you in on, but I have never found the one."

"So you didn't force your naps and spankings on the other girls you've dated?" Gee how did I get so lucky? That was a rhetorical question.

"No, we don't expect those things out of the women we date only the ones we love. And if you remember my dear I didn't force naps on you, you chose them in exchange for something else."

"Whatever, I was tricked. What are you going to do when this is all over and we go back to L.A.? You won't have anything to hold over my head anymore." I smiled triumphantly.

"Have they really been that awful, Bella?"

Well no. Actually there are days I have come to look forward to the escape, especially on days when Lauren was on the warpath. But I wasn't about to tell his smug ass that.

"They're highly inconvenient. And I don't see anything wrong with forgoing one every once in a while. It's not like I'm going to die from exhaustion."

"I've seen the difference, whether you want to admit it or not, Bella. You know if you spent half your energy just accepting what you know is true rather than wanting to fight it all the time I think you would be much more relaxed and agreeable." He jumped up and grabbed me from around the waist and brought me back down with him on the couch, tickling me. Playful Edward. I would take playful Edward any day of the week.

The house phone rang, which was quite unusual. Edward rarely gave out his number; most people reached him on his cell phone. Edward released me and went to find out who was calling.

"Hello." There was a pause; I could see his face instantly change into joy. "Are you serious, that's great! Congratulations, we are so happy for you." I waved my hands around trying to get his attention when he saw me I mouthed, "Who is it?" He just shook me off, and continued with his conversation.

"Well, I want you to take time, you should enjoy this period. Well I'll be sure to pass on the happy news. Okay, thank you. Good bye now."

He placed the phone back on the receiver and turned to me, "Angel had the baby." I squealed with delight.

"She had a boy and named him, William. They are all happy and healthy." Edward beamed.

"I am so happy for them; I can't wait to see him." I grinned as Edward sat back down behind me.

"Me too. I can't wait to be able to experience that kind of amazing happiness." He looked down at my stomach, to which I placed a pillow over it.

"Don't get any ideas mister." I scolded him.

"Bella don't you want to have children?" He asked thoughtfully.

"Yeah someday, after I have travelled the world, cemented my career and won an Academy Award." I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Why don't you just add travel to mars while you're at it?"

"Gee thanks, glad to know you think so highly of me. There are twenty-four different categories for the Oscars, I'm pretty sure I can find one to excel at. You're not the only one in this relationship capable of greatness."

Edward wrapped his arms around me and kissed my neck, "I think you are capable of many great things, I just like to make a baby before my swimmers dry up into dust."

I cringed, "Thanks for the visual, if that doesn't make me wet, I don't know what will."

"I love you Isabella Swan, you are going to do great amazing things."


	15. CHAPTER FIFTEEN

I spent a good part of my afternoon, checking and responding to my email. I had neglected it for a while partly because it felt weird to not share such a huge happening in my life with my parents. I didn't think it would be the best idea to drop a bombshell on them about my budding relationship with that man from the movie Out of Mind over the internet. Oh god what would my parents think? Edward may be rich and famous but he was almost twice my age and my boss, were those types of qualities the ones parents fell instantly in love with? Probably not. I finally sat down and wrote to my mom and dad keeping all topics of Edward to a minimum.

I had noticed that Angela had written me several times. The first subject line read. "Guess what." The second read, "Hello?" and the third just said, "BITCH." I knew that I needed to read whatever it was right away. I decided to skip straight to "BITCH."

_Dear Bitch,_

_That's right you don't have a name anymore. Only do I call my friends by their given names, seeing how you have decided to ignore me I'm not really sure how great of a friend you are any longer. Maybe champagne wishes and caviar dreams have gone to your head and you can no longer speak with us commoners. If you had read my last TWENTY emails you would know that I have decided to forgo the family vacation this year and come and see you in Italy. I already booked my ticket, so you better make this up to me and ask Mr. Hollywood for a couple of days off so we can go exploring. I hear Italian men are fantastic in bed, so you and your virgin ass better make accommodations for your who-ha because I plan on showing those Italians just how freaky us American bitches can be. You better write me back or I will show up on your door step and trust me it won't be pleasant._

_Love you,_

_Ang._

Well Crap, first of all Ang it was only three emails my god don't have a coronary. Angela's coming to Italy. I let out a sigh. Would Edward even let me take off a day or two, maybe I could take a Friday and or Monday and make a long weekend out of it. It would be nice to see more parts of Italy. I wonder how Edward would feel letting Angela and I loose in Italy without adult supervision, however if he met Angela maybe he would see that she could scare the crap out of anyone including those lovely men down in Sicily. Wait a minute I don't need his permission, I am a grown female adult, I take orders from no one.

I wrote back Angela, typing furious probably because I had my anger spurring me on. I was already anticipating the fight that this may cause with Edward. By the time I was finished with the email, it felt like I had run a marathon. I didn't even hear Edward come in.

"Hey honey, are you ready to lie down for a while?" he sweetly asked. I being still hocked up on pissy adrenalin may not have answered as nicely as one could.

"I'll lay down when I damn feel like it." Oh shit. I could see his eyes instantly change.

"Excuse me Isabella, would you like to reconsider those words and tone." I huffed dramatically slammed my laptop shut and stomped over to my bed throwing myself on my stomach.

"What is up with your attitude?" he came over to the bed, I slightly turned around looking over my shoulder feeling the need to dig my grave deeper I said, "I can't speak to you at the moment Mr. Cullen, I have to take a nap."

I felt the sharp sting in my ass as he brought his hand down on it so hard and fast. I instantly turned over. "What the hell?" I shouted.

"How many more will it take to help improve your sunny disposition?" I didn't even answer him; I just flipped on my front and faced the other way. He sat on my bed. "What happened, Isabella? You were fine an hour ago." He asked quietly.

"I don't know, I started thinking of something I wanted to go and do and then my mind went a completely different direction. I think I'm just tired." I was exhausted.

"Well when you are ready to talk with me, I'm always here. Please rest for now." He got up and came over and kissed my forehead. "I love you." He whispered.

"I love you to."

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If I didn't have enough to worry about with Angela's impending arrival, I could always count on my job to kick me when I was down. All week-long it felt like everyone's stress level was raised. I could tell that people seemed a tad bit more impatient than normal. We were set for filming at the Piazza Navona, which was famous for their beautiful fountains and relaxing cafés. I had actually been having a pretty decent day that was until Lauren arrived. I had prayed since it was Friday, that I could get through the week without having to deal with her. It seemed like luck was not with me.

All day long it was "fat girl" this and "fat girl" that. She had me jumping through hoops like I was damn seal. And oh how she loved the insults. I know I should have just told her off but I needed to remain professional.

"Fat girl." She beckoned.

I sighed; damn she had caught me again.

"How may I help you?" Every word betrayed me.

"Yes, I would like a regular, ice vanilla latte, soy, easy ice and a Splenda thoroughly mixed in." What was I, a Starbucks? I turned around to go and fulfill the wench's request as she added, "Oh and if you don't have it here by filming, I will tell everyone of your failure and that you're the cause for the delay in production."

I found the closest café and tried to relay the order. Of course they didn't have Splenda so as my own form of revenge I was sure to use real sugar. That's sticking it to her, Bella.

I ran back to the set and found her as she was readying the troops. "I was almost out of breath, "Here's your ice vanilla latte, soy, easy ice and a one Splenda." She looked at me like I was crazy and then proceeded to backhand the drink on to me. The latte burst forth from its container and landed all over my face and hair, drenching my chest and continued to drip down my arms. I stood there frozen with my mouth opened. I looked up at her, she seemed proud of herself.

"Well that was a vast improvement to your wardrobe choice." She laughed and turned to leave. I stood there for a couple of seconds, people were staring at me. Kenny came over to me with a towel and handed it to me. I was never more grateful for his kindness, I thanked him and started to wipe myself off I was still pretty drenched but I had done my best.

I couldn't face everyone, there was no way I was going to face Edward. I made it to the local train station and like before I found myself a way home.

I must have looked like a mental case covered in the ice coffee; the one good thing was at least I smelled good. I can't believe I didn't stand up for myself. I had been bullied most of my life, but when I was younger I used to think that one day it would stop and one day I would be stronger to not allow this kind of thing to happen.

My phone started ringing, great it was Edward.

"Hello" I answered wearily.

"Bella, where are you?" he sounded pretty stressed out.

"I'm on my way to your house. I had an accident. I needed to change." Great, now it sounded like I crapped my pants.

"What do you mean you're on your way home, how are you planning to get there?" I could tell his voice was faltering.

"The same way I got home before, the train." I heard him yell out a "Fuck"

"Bella, are you out of your mind? You know how I feel about you traveling around by yourself." That's it.

"Well you know what, Edward. I really don't care at the moment of how you feel. I have had the worst fucking day and the last thing I need right now is a lecture on my safety." I promptly hung up the phone. I wasn't even able to shut the phone down before it started ringing. I hit ignore and turned it off.

When I arrived at the train station in Lake Bracciano, Alice was there waiting with the car. She took one look at me and rushed to me.

"Oh my god, Bella what happened?" she gasped.

I broke down only managing one word out of my mouth, "Lauren." Alice hugged me for a couple of minutes before we got inside the car.

"Bella, you have to tell Edward. No one deserves to be treated like this; he would be so pissed if he knew."

"Telling Edward is not an option. I'll figure this out myself."

When we arrived home, I took off upstairs for a shower. Showers and beds had always been my safe havens for breaking down in. I couldn't even find it in me to care about whatever punishment Edward was already plotting. I curled up in bed and cried myself to sleep, just like the pathetic "fat girl" I was.

The arrival of Edward's car and the doors slamming closed woke me from my sluggish sleep. I laid in bed waiting for his arrival which I knew wasn't going to be pleasant. Surprisingly enough it took him a couple of minutes to reach me and he gently opened the door instead of hurling it open like I had been picturing.

He turned the light on and looked over to me. My eyes just took him in.

"Do you have any idea how worried I was?" He shook his head slowly like he was trying to tell himself it wasn't true. I threw back the sheets and turned over on my stomach.

"Let's just get this over with." I said gloomily.

He came over and sat down on my bed beside me. "There will be plenty of time for punishment later."

Ugh why did he have to draw everything out? "Just get it over with already." I shouted at him. His hands were on me, he managed to flip me over so he could continue the conversation face to face.

"Bella, why didn't you tell me about Lauren?" My face paled.

"Who told you? Alice?" Please tell me that she hadn't betrayed me.

"No, not Alice. Alice has known about this?" Crap.

He continued, "Bella how could you not tell me? I'm your boss but you are my love, first. You should have come to me. When I heard about what she did today and how she has tormented you since the beginning of filming, it crushed me. Bella I love you more than anything, you think that I would ever allow any person to talk and treat you like that?" I started crying.

"Edward, it's not your fight. It's something I have to deal with. This isn't your problem." I said fiercely.

"Of course it is my problem. Any problem you have, then it's my problem too. You won't have to worry about Lauren anymore, I fired her."

My heart dropped to my stomach. "Oh no, please tell me your joking." Edward looked confused. "Edward, how could you do that? This is my problem, not yours. You firing Lauren, oh my god…" I got up from the bed and started to pace.

"Do you know what people will say? They will think that the only reason you fired her was because she upset your fuck buddy. I mean why else would a person of your stature go off and jeopardize the film. How could you do this to me?" I was yelling that's for damn sure.

"Bella…" I cut him off,

"You are messing with my career and you knew when this started, that was one of my issues with us. I don't want to be known as another Hollywood slut who fucked her way to the top."

"That's enough! If you think that I would just fire her because of the way she treated my girlfriend then that says a lot about the kind of person you think I am. I would fire anyone who ever treated my assistant or any person on my set with such horrible disregard. And if it makes you feel any better, I wasn't the person who fired her, Emmett did. We don't want to be associated with anyone like that. Yes I knew she was difficult when we first hired her but I never once thought she could be capable of this."

What was I going to do, what would people think? Edward broke me out of my contemplation, "Oh and just so you know it wasn't just one person who told me about today, several people came up to me and shared with me how she has been treating you. Because believe it or not you are well liked and after today they were willing to stand up for you."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing, who would want to stand up for me. When you filmed on major productions like this one, there was a sense of hierarchy. The above the line people, meaning actors, producers, directors rarely associated with the below the line workers. Below the line being your grips, production assistants, and lighting or makeup people. Pretty much the grunt workers. It was rare for one group to talk to another group unless it concerned work, which is why I was surprised that my colleagues would break the code of silence for someone like me.

I looked at him and sat down on my bed I placed my hands over my face. I felt him wrap his arms around me, we laid back down and he held me as I started telling him all about Lauren , how she treated me and how it killed me inside when she would call me "fat girl." When it was over we just laid together not saying a thing.

Something suddenly occurred to me, "Edward you can't fire Lauren, how on earth are you going to replace your lead actress? It's going to cost you a fortune to do re-shoots."

"Bella, do you realize just how little she really filmed. Her role is not that big. We are going to tweak the script, hire a new actress and when we get back to LA we are going to film her characters scenes on a soundstage. It really won't cost that much because Lauren's husband will be paying for it."

"What? Why would Tyler Crowley pay for a movie that his wife was fired from?" I asked.

"Because we made it very clear to him when we signed her that if there were any problems with Lauren, we would hold him responsible." Edward stated matter of factly.

"That would never hold up in a court of law." I countered.

"Bella, it won't reach the law, in Hollywood we have our own laws and if he values his wife and his career he will do what we ask." Okay, was it just me or was Edward starting to sound a little gangsta. I tried to not let my mind ponder Edward's words too much; I mean it wasn't like he was the Godfather. He wasn't going to take someone out, right?

Edward interrupted my musings, "Bella, we need to talk about your punishment."

I sighed, "I know you're upset about the train, but first of all it really isn't as scary as you think. And second, can't we consider it as time served. I mean I was tortured for a couple of months I think that's punishment enough."

He kissed my head, "First of all, I don't think the train is all that unsafe but it really isn't something you should do alone. And second, I'm willing to overlook the train but I am going to punish you for keeping something like this from me. You need to learn that I am always here for you and you have to come to me when stuff like this happens. You could have come to me in the beginning and I would have talked with her and it would have been over. From what I understand she was already causing you problems even before we were dating, so there would have been no threat to worry about what others thought."

"I just didn't want to burden you with my problems and I was afraid that you would not let me come to set anymore."

"Bella you must have more faith in me, we can always talk about something and come up with a solution together." He raised my chin with his finger and he leaned down and kissed my lips.

"Are you ready?" I knew what he was talking about so I snuggled in closer to him, "No." I said in the smallest possible voice.

He started to pull himself away from me, he sat with his back on my head-board and his legs stretched out on my bed. "Come here." I slowly pulled myself up and over his lap and waited for the price to be paid.

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Thankfully Edward went easy on me, well if you call ten swats easy. Of course I had forgotten to bundle up and I remembered half way through. I asked Edward if he wouldn't mind taking five. Using the excuse of my bursting bladder I made my way to the bathroom and managed to flatten out some wash clothes padding my underwear. I should have known it wasn't going to work, after the first swat Edward pulled down my pants and then told me for the remainder of the chastisement I would not be allowed to wear anything at all.

I still had to figure out how to ask Edward for a couple of days off, Angela's impeding arrival was something of a stress to me. I know that I was supposed to go to him with a problem and together we would arrive at a solution, blah blah blah. But in reality I knew that if I presented him with a problem he would arrive at a solution fit for him.

We were sitting down for breakfast when I decided to drop the bomb shell; I figured the more witnesses the better.

"So Edward, I was wondering if I could maybe take a couple of days off. Like one or two not too big of a deal." I asked slyly.

He was passing the pancakes to me, I saw Alice perk up. "What are you thinking about doing with those days?" his interests definitely seemed to peak.

"Well I.." Don't blow this Bella. "I want to see…" Oh god I had rehearsed all morning long and now it went right out the mansion window.

"Wow normally you're like a crazy babbling Furby what happened?" Emmett snickered.

I sent Emmett a death look. "My friend is visiting and has asked if I could travel with her for a couple of days. No biggie." Whew that was done.

"Why don't you ask her to come and stay here?" To anyone listening it would seem like a nice gesture, for me I knew he was just asking that because he had found a solution to my problem that he could live with.

"She wants to rough it, she has these dreams of coming over here, bouncing around from city to city and Roman Holidaying it up." Okay maybe some of that was a lie. If Angela knew I was trying to disinvite her from a celebrity's home she would kill me and then not talk to me for a week after.

"Well maybe you should call her and ask her after breakfast. Tell her that we would be more than happy to accommodate." He smiled at me, I smiled back at him. You may think you won this round, Mr. Cullen.

As soon as breakfast was over, I attempted to run upstairs and "call" Angela.

"Bella, where are you going?" Edward halted me.

"I'm going to write Angela." I faltered almost missing a step at the sound of his voice.

"I thought you were going to call her." He had a satisfied smirk on his face.

"Well it seems ridiculous to make an expensive international call when an email will suffice."

"I think it would be better to call so you can properly explain our offer, why don't you use the kitchen phone so if you get confused I'll be right there to help you out." I sighed inward, this man knew me too well. That was never a good thing.

It took me a minute to just figure out how to call Angela, when dialing internationally you have to dial like ten numbers before you get to the phone number. I saw Edward sitting and reading a newspaper on the couch in the family room. I knew it was all a farce since he was reading an Italian newspaper and he didn't know a lick of Italian.

The phone started ringing. Please don't pick up, please don't pick up.

"Hello." Dammit Angela, you had one job to do.

"Hey Ang. It's Bella."

"Bella? Oh my god it's a miracle she's alive. Ladies and Gentleman she's alive." She began shouting to what I hoped was an empty apartment.

"Yeah real funny Ang." I grumbled.

"Well I was about to call in on the tip line for TMZ and accuse Edward Cullen of kidnapping my roommate." She declared.

"I'm sorry, I've been really busy. You know how overly demanding these celebrities can be." I looked over at Edward and he just smiled widely.

"So Ang, the reason I was calling, I recently asked my boss for a couple of days off so that I can go exploring with you and he has offered you a place to stay while you're here." Here's where it gets tricky.

"Are you serious, oh my god yes." She jumped at it, like expected.

"I know, I tried telling him that you already had a completely different idea in mind, but don't worry he won't be offended by your rejection of his offer."

Ang started yelling into the phone. "Bella, I didn't say no, I'm saying yes!"

"Don't worry, I'll be sure to let him down gently but the good news is he is giving me a five-day weekend to spend with you."

"Bella can you hear me, is this thing working?" She sounded confused; I was really going to have to make this up to her.

"Angela, this is Edward Cullen." My head whipped around so fast to see that Edward had picked up the phone near the couch. "My apologies, I heard you talking with Bella and I was hoping that I could get you to reconsider." I was instantly on my feet and jumped on him trying to tackle the phone out of his hand. "Get off the phone, Edward Anthony Masen Cullen." I growled. Leave it to celebrities to give their children crazy long names.

"Oh you would, well we look forward to having you. Thank you Angela we will see you next Friday." He hung up.

"I can't believe you high jacked my phone conversation, doesn't privacy mean anything to you people?" I huffed.

"Bella, why don't you want your friend to come and stay with us?" I hated when he asked me legitimate questions.

"Because I wanted to be able to go and see something other than Rome, I have been here for three months and all I have really seen has been Lake Bracciano and snippets of Rome. I know that I am here for work, but this was my opportunity to see Florence and Sienna and I know with Angela here you are going to just control everything. I want my damn freedom. I think you could at least trust me with a couple of days off somewhere without you." I flopped down on the opposite side of the couch then where he currently occupied.

He sat there for a moment thinking before he spoke, a quality which I am sure he felt I needed to work on.

"Why didn't you just come and talk to me instead of making us go through that whole debacle."

"Come on Edward, what would you have said if I just straight out asked to go traipsing around Italy with my adult female friend without the proper supervision which I have learned has come to mean either you or Emmett or Jasper or Carlisle and nobody else because heaven forbid we try and act like normal human beings here."

"Look, I really don't think that having an attitude now is going to help your cause. If you had come to me like a normal adult human being in the beginning we could have sat around and come up with a compromise that hopefully both of us could live with." He said pointedly.

He scooted over to where I was sitting and turned himself to look at me. "You want me to trust you, but over and over you show me a lack of judgment and responsibility. I don't want you to feel like a prisoner, that's not my intension. However I do not feel comfortable with two young women running around Italy without someone I trust to be there if a problem should arise. I'm going to offer you a compromise and you can either take it and go have fun, or Angela can stay here for her visit and she can come with us on work days into Rome."

"How is this a compromise? You're just giving me options." I asked.

"Well I would have been willing to negotiate a compromise but after your little act you just displayed, this is the consequence. You can take your five days and go up to Florence or wherever else your little heart's desire, I will pay for the hotel in whatever cities you end up in, ensuring that you are in a safe area." Okay I could feel the catch coming.

"In addition, on days I cannot personally escort you, I ask that Carlisle and Esme accompany you." And there you have it; Edward Cullen had the catch of the day. I chose to stay silent those next few moments to work on thinking before speaking. A wise decision due to the fact that my initial reaction would have been to let lose a few curse words which I am sure would land me in a prime position of discomfort.

I slowly exhaled and tried to un-ball my fists. "We will accept Carlisle and Esme's supervision during the hours of midnight to seven am." I said diplomatically.

"No. This is the only deal I am willing to make."

Now he'd done it. "That's ridiculous!" I jumped up off the couch. "You can't tell me what to do and you sure as hell can't tell Angela what to do. Let me tell you how this is going to work. Angela and I are going to be gone from Friday evening to Monday morning, during which time we will go wherever the hell we want to go, on our own I might add. And we will stay in the crappiest hotel known to man maybe even a hostel, we will eat from garbage cans if we feel like it and we may even cross the street without looking both ways. Do not even presume to believe for two seconds that you hold any power over our plans." I think I even startled myself with that little speech. He didn't look too happy.

Emmett came bounding into the room to witness our little standoff, which I'm sure Edward was just pausing for until he left.

"Whoa, it's a little intense in here. I think I'll just leave." Emmett held up his hands and slowly backed his way out.

"No Emmett you stay, I was just leaving." I called after him.

"Isabella, go upstairs and wait in our room." Edward seethed.

"You know what, I think I'll pass." I turned and walked out the backdoor.

Edward didn't come after me or even try to call me back. It was a lot cooler now on the lake, the once hot summer had changed drastically. In the last week of November the temperature had to have been around fifty degrees that day. The lake didn't even look inviting, it's once glacial appearance seemed to be wrestling with the wind.

I had chosen a fine day to storm out of the house. I knew that going back would mean I would have to face the music and no matter how cold I may feel I wasn't ready for it. I sat down on the edge of the dock watching the water below me, I was half tempted to make a home for myself in Edward's boat but I knew if I stepped one foot on that boat without his permission I would really be in for it. I knew he was probably sitting up there in his castle watching me. Waiting for me. That was the downside to our partnership, each of us were equally stubborn and as you know in any fight there is always one clear winner.


	16. CHAPTER SIXTEEN

I had sat on the edge of the dock for nearly a half hour; this was not exactly how I pictured spending my Sunday afternoon. I was chilled to the bone and I actually started shaking. Great maybe my ass would become frost-bitten and fall off so I could just hand Edward my ass and be done with it. I had on no coat, just a t-shirt and jeans with sandals. I had tried warming my toes up and yes I knew what kind of stubborn ass I was being. It had been almost an hour when I finally decided to give up and go in, as I was standing up my leg instantly stiffened and the next thing I knew I was in the lake.

If I thought I was cold before it was nothing compared to how I felt now. My body was stinging like millions of tiny needles shot through my skin. I came up for air, trying to swim myself over to the dock. I was gasping, my lungs felt like they were on fire. I can't believe I had fallen into the lake, come on Bella, how clumsy do you have to be.

As I was pulling myself up on the dock I could see Edward charging at me, running down the hill at some kind of super speed. He reached me before I could pull myself out of the water.

He reached down and grabbed a hold of me underneath my arms and managed to pull me up to a sitting position on the dock. I was shivering and shaking. He instantly pulled off his shirt and then proceeded to pull off my shirt.

"What are you doing? I'm not about to get naked here." My teeth rattled out.

"Bella put my shirt on." He commanded. He pulled his shirt over my head and it did marginally help. I was so cold that it hurt to walk; my legs were stiff so Edward lean down and picked me up. We got back to the house in no time. Edward marched us up to his bedroom and began stripping me of my clothes. I was afraid he was going to punish me right here. But then he started stripping off his clothes, was he going to have sex with me?

He turned on the shower, I know I was literally freezing my ass off, but all I could focus on was Edward walking around naked. He walked me into his massive shower, the hot water blessing me with its beautiful gift. Edward's shower had three different nozzles all shooting out water at different angles.

He started off with shampoo, massaging it tenderly into my scalp; his amazing fingers had once again left me in ecstasy. He then continued on with soap, meticulously washing every bit of me. I happened to notice that he paid careful attention to certain areas, which currently had me panting. He wrapped his arms around me and began kissing me softly at first, but as his tongue entered; his kiss became frantic and unforgiving.

I could feel him harden, his granite member pushing into my stomach. He weaved his hands in my hair pulling me closer. Well if this is how Edward was going to react to me standing up to him, I take note. He dropped to his knees and gently spread my legs open. When Edward started sucking on my clit I had to put my hands on his shoulders to steady myself. My legs could barely hold me up; he took notice and pushed me back to the tiled bench.

I sat myself down and he continued his magnificent work. At this angle he was able to push his tongue inside of me; he placed one finger inside stretching me a little. It was a tad bit uncomfortable but I think my body just needed to adjust to it. I could hear him moan, it sent my clit vibrating. I think my moans were out doing his, I started to pinch my nipples readying my body for the impending orgasm I was about to receive. His mouth continued to do magical things, he started inserting two fingers, stretching me a little further, that didn't feel nearly as good as I had hoped. I cringed and tensed my body; he took notice and pulled them both out returning to one. Oh yes that's the spot. And then he completely stopped. I looked down at him in shock.

"Say yes to my compromise and I'll give you your orgasm." My mouth was hung open.

"Are you bribing me?" I said outraged.

He ran his tongue up my slit, sucking on clit once more for good measure. He placed a finger on my magic "yes" button, moving it around. "Oh god yes!" I moaned, that's why I called it the "yes" button it could make me say yes to anything. He smiled a winning smile and assaulted me his finger pushing in and out, his tongue sucking and softly biting and he reached his other hand up to pinch my nipple all this became the perfect trifecta to my shattering orgasm.

My head fell back against the tiled wall and I sat there in pure bliss. Edward came up and sat down beside me he was still hard as a rock, I pushed him back and straddled him. I started kissing him hovering ever so slightly over the tip I could feel it barely grazing my sensitive skin.

"I love you, Edward." I said softly. I looked in his eyes and could see all the love in the world in them.

"I love you more than anything, Isabella Swan." I nodded my head and proceeded to gently push myself down on him. I hadn't even put the tip in when he realized what I was about to do. He grabbed a hold of my hips and stopped me. "No, Bella. Not like this."

Instant rejection. Just as I had feared. I paused for a moment feeling the horrible emotion fill me. I pushed off of him, standing up. My eyes full of tears, thankful for the shower to immediately wash them away. Edward took ahold of my wrist trying to bring me back to him, "Bella." I tried again to pull away from him. But he was stronger and he forced me into a hug.

"What's wrong with me? Every time I try for more you push me away. Why are you even with me?" I whimpered.

"Bella, I don't want the first time we make love to be after a fight. I don't want to make love to you when you are still unsure and I can tell you are. I don't want you to do something in the moment and then regret it."

"But I love you, I'm sure I'm ready. If we keep waiting then eventually you'll get tired of me." I felt the size of an ant.

"Baby did you hear what you just said; you only want to do this because you're afraid I'll move on if we don't start having sex. That is crazy, I'm not going anywhere. But I am sure not going to have sex with you because of your fears. Because that is all it will be, sex. I want the first time to be perfect; I want to show you all the love I have for you. Honey, it will happen. I plan on spending the rest of my life with you. There will be love-making, there will be fucking and there will be baby making. I promise, just be patient."

"Baby making" I said the word with trepidation.

"Eventually we'll want to have kids." He beamed.

"I can't think of that now, just the idea of something that big coming out of that hole freaks the shit out of me. I'm still trying to figure out how you're going to get that thing inside of me." I shook my hand toward his now soft penis.

"I noticed you tensed a little when I added a finger, you will stretch and it will hurt a little but I'll be here to help you through it."

I looked up at him confused, "Are we talking about a baby or sex?"

He laughed a little, "Both, I guess."

"Ok now you're starting to scare me." I shivered.

"Sweetheart it will be fine; we don't have to worry about any of that for a while." He kissed my hair. I won't have to worry about that for a while! Just how long was he planning on keeping me a virgin? Great news on the baby front, there was no way I was ready for that.

He turned off the shower; I was pretty pruned at this point. But the loss of the hot water had me suddenly shivering. Edward wrapped a towel around me and gave me another to wrap around my head. He ran to my room real quick, butt naked in towel and came back instantly with clean undies and pajamas the kind I used to wear before I tried seducing my boyfriend. But they were at least the warmer kind. We both got dressed and he led me to bed.

"Baby, why don't you take a nap while I make something for us to eat?" I snuggled down in his covers, trying to wrap myself up. He kissed me on the head and left.

I tried for a half hour to get to sleep, but I couldn't get warm enough. I finally gave up and wrapped myself in a blanket and headed downstairs. Edward and Carlisle were talking while Edward was stirring something on the stove.

"Honey, what are you doing up?" Edward inquired as I approached the kitchen.

"I couldn't sleep, it was too cold." I pouted.

He walked over to me and felt my forehead. "Your burning up, you probably have pneumonia." He assessed.

"Don't get all over dramatic, Edward. I know it maybe your profession but please leave it at the office."

He looked back at the stove; Carlisle must have known what he was thinking, "Go take care of her Edward, I'll finish the soup and bring it up."

He nodded and thanked Carlisle. Taking me by the hand he pulled me upstairs. He put me back in bed and went to the bathroom. He came back with a thermometer and proceeded to place it in my ear, it beeped and it read 102. He shook his head placing it on the side table and climbed into bed with me.

"I guess you're not coming to work tomorrow."

I started to protest, "I'll be better in the morning."

"Consider this your punishment; did you think I was going to forget how you acted earlier?" I scowled at him. "So one day and it erases my infraction?" I raised an eyebrow.

"If you are not down to 98 degrees tomorrow evening then you will stay home another day and so on and so on until you get better. As for your "infraction" I will allow this time off from work to serve as fulfillment with the understanding that if you ever decide to speak to me in such a manner again I will not be so lenient next time."

"I thought you could only punish me if I violated some form of safely or a health code violation?"

"If you remember correctly, I said health, safety and overall well-being. When you decide to yell expletives and throw tantrums then that falls under overall well-being. You could have calmly talked with me instead you threw a tantrum. You are twenty-two years old, when you start acting like a mature woman then the punishments will stop, until that happens it will be a part of our life."

I rolled my eyes, I knew I should continue with our little debate but his body heat was finally helping my shivers go away so I snuggled in promising to continue this conversation later.

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Not only was I not able to go to work on Monday, but my stupid body hung on to that damn temperature long enough for me to not return until Wednesday. You have no idea how long that feels when you have to sit around all day with no one but Alice to keep you company. Carlisle and Esme didn't stick around to help save me, they took off to Tuscany. Alice as she informed me was being such a dear to look after me and keep me entertained, however her idea of entertainment greatly differed from my own. Let's me just say on a side note, kids, if you are thinking of being stubborn and want to try to hold your ground to make a point then please don't do it near a freezing lake around fall or winter.

It felt good to arrive back on set on Wednesday, even though I was a tad bit nervous to see how people may react to my presence since the Lauren debacle that went down last Friday. So far people had greeted me warmly and it didn't feel like the gossip mill ran out of my favor. I decided to try to talk with Magda first; she would tell me if there was any concern.

"There she is. We missed you the past couple of days, of course you know there were rumors running wild about you." Oh no don't panic, just find a way to diffuse them.

"Oh really, how bad?" Locate the threat for proper extermination.

"Well some people said that Lauren hurled hot coffee at you and you spent the weekend in the burn unit." I couldn't stop my eye roll, some people were so sensationalized.

"Others said that she made you sit there while she poured it on you."

I had to stop her, this was ridiculous. Well at least it was all rumors about Lauren and not about Edward overreacting. "Magda please tell me you didn't believe this. Yes coffee was involved but it was cold and she backhanded it not hurled." I laughed. I finally felt free of the threat my whole body relaxed.

"Of course I know it wasn't true. Kenny told me the truth and set people straight when they tried spreading those horrendous versions." She sat me down on the work bench and brought me into a half hug.

"Bella, I know that people in this business can be horrible, but no person should ever have to endure what you had to. You weren't the first I know to be put in a position like this and unfortunately you won't be the last. Edward is a good man, you should have said something. I could see the hurt in his eyes when we showed up at his trailer that night and finally told him all that had gone on. Of course we know it's not any of our business but we couldn't allow it to keep happening to one of our own. I hope you can forgive me."

"There is nothing to forgive Magda; I appreciate you standing up for me when I wasn't strong enough to stand up for myself. I just didn't want people to think I was weak. I kept feeling like I could handle it, but I couldn't. If you don't mind me asking, who is this "we"?"

"Well of course word spread fast, Carl knew that you were friends with me so he came barreling in here when he heard. He was adamant that we needed to do something. I was surprised to say the least you know how cranky he can be I never thought he'd care about anyone other than himself. But we grabbed Kenny on the way since we knew that he had witnessed the latest and marched right up to Edward's door. It was quite an event."

"I can't believe it. Thank you." I hugged her one last time and headed off in search for a bakery.

I located the pastries that I needed and set off to find Carl. He was sitting in the shade waiting for Emmett to figure out what he needed exactly. I walked up to him, handing him the box with the pastry.

"What's this for?" he grumbled.

"Thank you."

"I don't know what you're talking about?" he looked away.

I smiled a little, "That's fine, but thank you nether the less."

He opened the box and pulled out the pastry and bit into it.

"You know there are two in there maybe you wouldn't mind sharing." I said.

"Why would I want to do a stupid thing like that? Almost like a silly girl who allows herself to be bullied."

I huffed and narrowed my eyes, "Stupid thing? What about the man who puts on this front like he's a tough guy when he really is a big softy at heart?"

He pulled out the other pastry and handed it to me, "Here, silly girl."

"Why thank you tough guy." I replied. I smiled at him and he just shook his head and rolled his eyes.

I started to say, "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful…"

"You can stop right there Casablanca, I hated that movie." He said gruffly.

"How can you hate Casablanca? You're a filmmaker; it's like in your DNA." I said outraged.

"I'm not about to take film critic advice from someone who probably thought that Peewee's Big Adventure was the epitome of brilliant filmmaking."

I laughed, that movie scared the crap out me when I was younger. We sat and ate our pastries, bantering about decent films. It really was the beginning to a beautiful friendship.


	17. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Angela's plane was due to land in Rome at one pm. After much begging, Edward finally agreed to let me pick her up and take the train back home. It didn't make sense to force Angela to be on set all day waiting for us to finish, I knew that a nine-hour flight in coach was going to wear her out. Edward had asked Alice to pick us up from the station to ensure safe arrival.

I was currently waiting outside the international arrivals terminal biting my nails. Edward had tricked me, getting me to promise to tell Angela about our relationship. I had instantly been against it, I wasn't ready to face my friend and tell her all about Edward and I. But after a very intense oral session, I once again in the moment of passion agreed to do whatever he asked. I knew it was the right thing to do, she was my best friend. I was just scared to tell her, I never thought Edward and I were going to last long enough for me to have to tell anyone.

I saw her head bouncing through the crowd, well this was it. She saw me and instantly ran to me squealing the whole way. Wrapping her arms around me intensely.

"Oh Bella, I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too; I can't believe you're here." She stepped back to appraise me.

"There's something different." Her eyes scanned me over, "Oh my god! You lost your virginity." She accused.

"Angela!" Everyone was staring at us. "No I did not lose my virginity. Geez, could you have said that any louder?"

"Oh Bella, they don't even understand me, they're all Italian." I helped pick up one of her forgotten bags, "Ang a lot of Italians can speak English. Next time can you stick to less private matters in public, like my bank account numbers and shit?"

She laughed, and we started the walk to the train station. You would think taking a red-eye out of Los Angeles, would slow Ang down but that wasn't the case. She talked my ear off the entire way back to the house. She was filling me in on the latest hometown gossip and pointing out things as the train sped on.

"You seem weird, is everything ok?" I guess I had been clutching my purse a little too hard and was more focused on the carpet then her stories.

"There is something I have to tell you when we get to the house and I'm not sure how you're going to take it, but it's kind of stressing me out." I confessed.

Angela became serious she knew that I would normally have no problem telling her personal things in my life. "Okay, well you shouldn't be stressed because whatever you say to me, I will handle it well, because I'm awesome." Angela never lacked confidence, how I wish I could switch brains with her. Ang had been training the past couple of months to join the L.A.P.D. The perfect career path for her, since I knew there wasn't a problem out there she couldn't handle. My father was so proud of her and loved to share stories with her, he had helped her in any way he could.

I tried to make more conversation the rest of the way telling her about filming and of course living with all the crazy people of the house. I told her about the time I had off so that we could see some places, I lied as to why Carlisle and Esme were coming with us stating that they really wanted to see some of the cities we were going to. She didn't care she was excited about being able to tell people that she once had the good fortune to travel with the Cullen's.

Alice like promised, was waiting for us at the train station, I may have forgotten to tell Angela that she'd be there. It was so embarrassing as she "Oh my godded" all around Alice. You remember how I once told you that there were two types of fans, the kind like me who shut down and couldn't form sentences and the other kind, the Angela's of the world who wouldn't stop talking with her voice raising a couple of octaves. You put Angela in the company of Alice whose voice also turned high-pitched when she became excited and you had a high-pitched inducing migraine.

Alice and Angela became fast friends and were gabbing the whole ride home; I probably would have been excited for my friends to get along if I didn't have the future conversation looming over me. We drove down the path to the house the gate opening as we approached.

"Holy shit! This is where you've been living? Lucky bitch." If you ever wondered where I got my potty mouth you wouldn't need to look any farther than Ang.

"Yeah it's been pretty fantastic." I acknowledged.

Alice parked the car and I told Angela to leave the heavy bags in the car, the boys would get them. There was no way I was going to attempt to lift that bag all the way up the stairs.

Edward and I held a very intense discussion one evening deciding where to put Angela; the house was filling up fast and although there were a couple of small rooms left, Edward felt it would be best to let Angela stay in my room for the duration of her stay. I have to admit my room was pretty fantastic, but Edward's alternative agenda was to get me to move in with him and his room. I think he knew that this way I would be forced to tell Angela about us.

I opened the door to my room announcing our arrival, "And this is my room, which you are welcome to use during your stay." She walked around assessing it.

"Well where are you going to stay?" She asked confused. I sighed and sat down on the bed.

"I am going to be staying…with my boyfriend." I immediately cringed. Her jaw dropped, "Isabella Swan! You didn't tell me you had a boyfriend. When did this happen?"

"Um well we've been together for a couple of months, it's been going well." I stated matter of factly.

"A couple of months!" She shrieked.

"Look, it's something that we are trying to keep very private, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I just didn't want people to know yet. I didn't know if this thing would last past Italy so I didn't want to talk about it."

"So you're just going to run off and stay with this guy leaving me here all alone?" She folded her arms over her chest and started tapping her foot.

"Well, um not necessarily. You see he kind of lives here." Pause for dramatic effect. "As in he owns this house."

She stood there staring at me, I could see in her eyes the second it clicked. "Oh my god!" she screamed. "You're fucking your boss?" she said hushed through clenched teeth.

"I'm not fucking him." I defended. "I mean not for the lack of trying, I sleep with him yes…"

She interrupted me again, "You're fucking Edward Cullen!" ok this was not going as planned.

"You're fucking Edward Cullen" She continued getting louder.

"I AM NOT FUCKING EDWARD CULLEN!" I shouted. Edward walked in that second obviously just overhearing our screaming match. Angela stood there staring at him in shock.

"Alright I'll just leave you two." He said trying to back his way out the door.

"Oh no you don't! You're the one who wanted to tell her all about our loving relationship." I yelled at him.

"Okay let's all calm down." Edward walked over to Angela, "Hi nice to meet you Angela, I'm Edward apparently the man whose responsible for all this…screaming." He held out his hand and she shook it dumbstruck as to what was happening.

Her head snapped to me, "You weren't planning on telling me?" she asked hurt.

"Ang, it's not that I didn't want you to know, you're my best friend. I love you so much but I just wasn't sure if this thing was going to last."

"Gee thanks Bella, I love you too." Edward interjected.

I huffed, "Edward, I can only deal with one head case at a time." I walked over to Ang and gave her a hug. "Angela, I've met a man who yes just happens to be my boss. I'm just another Hollywood cliché but this man makes me feel amazing. He makes me feel loved and no matter how long this relationship lasts I've never been happier in my life and I love him."

Edward walked up behind me placing his hands on my shoulders, "And I love her." He said.

She sighed, "Well I'm happy for you, both of you." She said sincerely. "However, if you hurt her I don't care how powerful you are I will hunt you down and cut off every appendage you have and feed it to you."

I think Edward may have shit his pants, he nodded instantly. Wow that was impressive.

Edward kissed me quickly and left us to settle her in. Emmett came bursting through the door with Angela's bags in tow. Unfortunately I had to kick him out after he and Angela started swapping embarrassing stories about me.

Edward had planned on welcoming Angela, with pizza night. So I told her to wear something she could get dirty in and we made our way down to the kitchen. I introduced her to the remaining house guests.

I have to admit as I watch Edward teach Angela how to toss a pizza, to see her laughing and having a good time it made me happy for once to merge two different parts of my life together.

"Bella, it's your turn to toss the pizza." Angela announced. Everyone started laughing.

"Shut up!" I stomped my foot. "It's not funny."

Edward decided to fill her in since she clearly did not get what was so funny. "Angela, Bella had an incident once so we try to keep the dough away from her now."

I crossed my arms and pouted. "What happened?" Angela asked.

"Oo Oo Can I do a reenactment?" Emmett was raising his hand bouncing up and down.

Emmett came over and picked up a glob of dough and started tossing it in the air but instead of his hands catching it, the dough came back down and his face caught it. It wasn't one of my more graceful moments.

Emmett proceeded to run around with the dough on his face screaming, "my eye, my eye."

I slapped him in the arm, "I didn't do that." I huffed.

Everyone was still laughing, I went to the couch in the family room and dropped myself down and busied myself with the television. "Come on Bella, don't be a spoil sport." Edward taunted.

I ignored him. Esme who had been sitting on the other side of the couch handed me a magazine. She kindly smiled at me, "Don't take any crap from them." I looked at her shocked; I had never heard her say a curse word before.

Edward came over to me and crouched down in front of me, "Come on baby, don't be mad." He looked so cute at the moment; it was hard to not give in. But he came up and kissed me on my check and started nibbling on my ear, he whispered "honey, if you forgive us and come back, I'll be sure make you cum tonight." Oh god, my panties just flooded. Damn him for being able to use sex to get out of something. I knew I should stand strong and not encourage this behavior. Oh what the hell, of course I'm going to give in.

I smiled and kissed him briefly, "Okay." So what if I'm easy. He pulled me off the couch and we continued on with our pizza.

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Edward and I had said our good nights to everyone shortly after Angela went up for bed. That poor girl had to have been exhausted. Edward started brushing his teeth, while I took out my contacts and washed my face. It all felt really normal, like we had been living with each other our whole lives. I smiled over to him as he spit in the sink, "What are you smiling at beautiful girl."

"You. I love you Edward Cullen, and even though I wasn't a fan of Angela staying here at first I really am glad she's here. I had no idea how much I missed her and my family. I've never been away from my loved ones for so long before."

He took my hand and brought me over to the bed, we both got in and snuggled up to one another. "You know, I really am happy she's here too." He confessed. "I feel like I'm learning so much more about you. Do you really miss your family that much?"

"Yes, my parents can be a bit stressful sometimes but I love them and I know that they must be going mad by now. They are so used to me being close in case anything happens and now I'm sure they are imagining the worst possible scenarios. I think Christmas will be the hardest, I've never been away from them on Christmas." I sighed.

Edward leaned down and kissed me, something suddenly occurred to me. "Hey I believe you owe me mister."

He came and placed his body on top of mine, "I don't know, I'm suddenly feeling tired." He kidded.

"Don't do the crime if you can't do the time." I taunted.

"Those are excellent words to live by, Isabella." He looked so smug. I narrowed my eyes at him, he laughed, "Okay one orgasm coming up."

He instantly placed his hand beneath my panties and started to slick up my opening. "Baby, we are going for two fingers tonight."

I promptly stiffened, "Let's not, it doesn't feel very good."

He started kissing my neck, "honey, lay back and relax, if you can't handle two fingers you're not going to be able to handle me inside of you."

I felt him enter a finger in me and push it in and out; I really started having doubts that sex would ever feel good. When he inserted the second finger I cried out, I had always had a low thresh hold for pain. "Sweetie, I can feel you tense around me, relax try thinking of something that relaxes you." He came up and kissed me on the mouth never once removing his fingers, "I don't think I can do this. What's wrong with me, Edward? Everyone I know gets off on this why am I in pain?" He pulled the fingers out and my body sagged with relief.

"Right there did you see what you did? You relaxed, baby it's in your mind you are expecting pain so your body tenses up. You have to control your mind, you need to think of pleasure and allow yourself to get lost in the moment and then it will feel amazing."

"Man, I can't even have sex right. Everything I do I mess up." I pouted.

"Stop talking like that, you are perfect and we are going to work on this together." He said sternly.

He took my nipple in his mouth and began sucking; his finger began to make circles around my little nub. Okay now this is what I lived for. I trembled. He got on top of me and started grinding himself into me when he brought his lips up to my neck and started sucking and biting. Every thought I even had completely left my head, I wrapped my legs around him trying to obtain the proper friction. I'm sure his boxers were now wet with my pussy juices.

I was so close and he knew it, I let out a sad moan when he stopped grinding and returned his fingers to finish the work, but he bit my nipple causing me to forget. Just as I started to cum he inserted two fingers inside me, pumping them in and out. Oh God is this what it's supposed to feel like? I couldn't help the scream that came from my mouth, it felt like the most intense orgasm on the planet.

My body immediately relaxed my mind in a fog of bliss. Edward came up and kissed me on the mouth, "I'm so proud of you baby, you did beautifully." I slowly nodded my head. Yea yeah you were right. I wasn't about to say that out loud.

I could see that he was still hard; I got up on all fours and crawled over to him where he laid on his back. I pulled back his boxers and his member sprung free from its confinement. "Sweetheart you don't need to do anything." He gently said.

"I know." I took him in my hand and started to stroke up and down. Edward's head instantly fell back to hit the headboard. I wasn't sure how much pressure to apply or how fast to stroke I just let my instincts rule me. I bent down and ran my tongue from the bottom of the shaft up to the tip.

"Oh god, Bella don't stop, please don't stop." Hearing Edward beg and knowing I was the cause of his pleasure was the sexiest thing ever.

I bravely took him in my mouth as far as possible, I could feel him place his hand on my head guiding me, "Right there Bella, amazing." He gasped out. I used my hand to help pump him and switched to massaging his balls. His cock seemed to grow, he suddenly pulled me off of him and pushed me down into the sheets kissing me fiercely, I felt him pump his cock once or twice and then come all over my stomach.

He fell back into the sheets in awe. "I wanted to finish." Leave it to me to screw up the mood.

"I know baby, but I didn't want you to have to swallow." He looked over at me; he could see I was upset. I know it was silly, but I really wanted to be the one to bring him all that pleasure.

"Honey, don't be upset, you were remarkable. It took everything in me to last as long as I did. I just didn't want you to have to do something that may disgust you."

"How would I know if it disgusted me if you didn't let me try it?" I asked.

"Well most girls just do it because they know that it will please their man, it doesn't bother me whether you swallow or not. If you really want to try it sometime then maybe we can try, but don't do it for me just being able to share a physical connection with you is all I need." I laid my head on his chest and he rubbed my back.

"I love you, honey." He declared.

I love you more." I smiled at him.


	18. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

We walked hand in hand to breakfast the next morning and were immediately accosted by Emmett.

"Hot off the presses, sexy man on a magazine." He wiggled his eyebrows at me.

"Please don't do that, you're creeping me out." I laughed.

Emmett swatted me with his magazine as he handed over the Vanity Fair. Sure enough there was Emmett trying to smolder the hell out of the cover with his eyes. The caption read "Emmett McCarty the Ultimate Liberal."

"The ultimate liberal?" I muttered. "Thanks Emmett, I read it after breakfast."

I sat down at the bar waiting for the food to be ready. "Come on guys, I finally make it on a prominent magazine and you won't even take the time to read the article." He whined. I did kind of feel sorry for him. Directors rarely were celebrated on magazine covers unless it was a film magazine or they were an actor turned director.

Carlisle spoke up helping us all out. "Emmett let us have something to eat first." He had been making an omelet, while Esme readied the bacon.

Angela came down beaming, "Good morning everybody, Edward I just might have to steal that bed from you. Last night was amazing."

"I'll be sure to get you one for Christmas." Edward replied.

Emmett immediately jumped on Angela, "Angie pie, check out who's on the cover of Vanity Fair this month. And not only that but you get to read the article before anyone else." We all rolled our eyes. Angie Pie had been here less than twenty-four hours and Emmett had already saddled her with a nickname.

"Oh really? Awesome." She took the magazine and went over to the couch and made Emmett's day.

Breakfast was finally ready, and we all came to the big table. Angela seemed to finish the article so Emmett started polling her on it to see what she thought. Angela is fairly opinionated but she seemed uneasy.

"Well it was an interesting article and it was um definitely forward thinking, I guess." She looked over to me and gave me a concerned look.

It was all very weird but thankfully breakfast continued on without any more mention of it. Afterwards when we were cleaning up, Angela pulled me aside.

"Bella, I don't think you should read the article." She nervously said.

"What happened Ang? You seem weirded out, more than usual I might add."

"I just don't think you are going to agree with some of the views Emmett has, and I don't want it to ruin your friendship. Please trust me." Oh crap did Emmett mention the society of the spanking celebs?

"Hey what are you two whispering about over here?" Alice sticking her nose right in.

"Angela seems to think that there is something in Emmett's article that may upset me. But now I'm just plain curious."

"Bella." Ang pleaded.

Everyone was sitting in the living room, doing as promised reading Emmett's new claim to fame article. I picked up the apparently controversial reading material and began to read on. It was your standard Q&A with a short article at the beginning telling all the readers about Emmett McCarty Academy Award winning film director. The Q&A started off pretty mild, asking him where he found inspiration and all the questions writers usually ask.

The moment I read one of his replies to a question, I immediately knew what Angela had been apprehensive about. I could feel my face flame and I tried to remain objective but I couldn't. I looked over to her and she slowly shook her head and mouthed, "I'm sorry."

I tried not to tear up but she was right I shouldn't have read the article. In response to what Emmett McCarty would change about our country.

"I feel that too many of our freedoms are taken away these days. For example if a person wants to drive without a seatbelt they should do so. It will be on them if they get into a car accident and get hurt. If a person wants to do drugs and they wind up overdosing then that's their fault. They are not hurting anybody but themselves and we should be free to make our own choices in life. We as a nation need to start becoming more responsible for ourselves."

I had actually started shaking; I needed to leave the room. I got up and started to walk out.

"What did you think?" Emmett asked.

"Um congrats." I looked over at Angela and gave her the nod to come with me; she instantly got up and came to me.

"Bella, what's wrong." Edward asked concerned.

"We have to go upstairs." It was a shitty excuse but I really didn't want to go off on Emmett.

"Okay what is going on? You two are acting weird. If you didn't like the article just say so." Emmett replied.

"Alright I didn't like the article." I admitted.

"You didn't like the article." Emmett actually looked hurt.

"I'm sorry." I apologized.

"Well what about it didn't you like?" Edward asked. I knew he was just trying to help the situation but it wasn't working. Everyone was looking at me confused.

"Because I don't agree with your views and I would rather just walk away before I say something I might regret." I could feel myself lose whatever sanity I may have had left.

"Well you should just tell me. Why hide your feelings, everyone is entitled to an opinion, this just happened to be mine and I don't see anything wrong with it." Emmett defended.

I walked back over to the magazine and picked it up, I flipped to the page that had offended me and began to recite his words.

"I feel that too many of our freedoms are taken away these days. For example if a person wants to drive without a seatbelt they should do so. It will be on them if they get into a car accident and get hurt. If a person wants to do drugs and they wind up overdosing then that's their fault. They are not hurting anybody but themselves and we should be free to make our own choices in life. We as a nation need to start becoming more responsible for ourselves." I tossed the magazine back down on the coffee table. "I don't agree with this. There is a reason we have laws and I found this statement was completely ignorant."

"Ignorant?" Emmett exclaimed.

"Yes ignorant. You don't know the first thing about the effects that a person on drugs can cause. You don't know the pain that their choices make. They're not hurting anybody but themselves? Are fucking kidding me?"

I was starting to breakdown but it was my anger fueling me now.

"What about their parents who love them and sit there and wonder every single day what they could have done to save their child's life? Please go and share your insights with my mom and dad on how their pain is not valid because we should all be free to make our own choices in life. Tell that to people who had to put their daughter into the ground when she was only twenty years old. But hey it was her fault that she overdosed, right? Jessica was the one who hurt herself? Then why were we left here to deal with the pain?" I shook my head slowly backing out of the room; I could see everyone all with different expressions on their faces.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry" I turned and ran out of the room. I didn't even know where I was going to until I reached the roof. It had felt like a lifetime ago when Edward and I shared our first date up here. The table now gone replaced with lounge chairs, but the twinkle lights were still displayed. Of course they weren't on, since it was only eleven in the morning. The sun was shining, the exact opposite of what my insides felt.

I had tried not to think about Jessica, mainly because it usually resulted in me getting really pissed off or I would breakdown and cry myself to sleep. Angela had always been kind to me and my family; she always watched out for us. It's funny before Jessica's addiction I would have seen movies and laughed, read articles like Emmett's and think nothing of it, but after she died I would never be the same again. Isn't it funny how your whole life you could be apathetic towards a cause and then an event happens and it can affect even the tiniest thing?

It was about a half hour later when I was joined on the roof.

"Your boyfriend is going crazy looking for you." Emmett said sadly.

"Why does that not surprise me. That man would have a computer chip put in me if he thought he could get away with it."

"Bella, I never wanted to hurt you, I am so sorry that my stupidity caused you pain." Emmett said sincerely.

"Emmett you didn't cause me pain, pain is just something I have to factor into my everyday life. I'm sorry for going off on you, you didn't know. In fact I was just thinking about how blissfully ignorant I was once, before Jessica overdosed."

He sat down on the chair across from me, "Does it bother you to talk about it?"

"Not as much anymore, it was six years ago. I was in high school and she was in her first year of college. She was incredibly smart; she received a full ride to this great school. But the school's administration refused to acknowledge that they had issues with the student body and surrounding community's trouble with drug use. Even though my sister was smart she was also very impressionable. It was a year of hell, she changed, she was moody, she stole money from my parents. And at the end of it she died alone in her dorm room. My dad felt it was his fault because he was a cop, he was the law and his own daughter had died. My mom wonders if she had never allowed her to go to that school maybe she'd still be here. And I blame myself because even though I was only sixteen, I should have talked to her I should have done something."

"You can't blame yourself; her actions are not your fault. Your parents and you loved her, you supported her throughout her life but sometimes bad things happen. You can't allow yourself to shoulder that. You are an amazing person, I was worried for so long about Edward. He seemed to never find the right person for him, he kept taking it so personally and then you came along and you were perfect. But if you allow this pain to rule you, it could end up hurting the people around you that love you." Emmett and I weren't ones for serious conversation; in fact this was only the second time it had happened. He was a very cheerful person but he always became serious when it had to do with his friends.

"Thank you Emmett, I really am thankful that I met you. I never really said thank you for saving me from James that night. I have a problem with trusting people sometimes and you have been so good to me. Thank you." I professed.

"Edward loves you, and I made a vow if you will, a long time ago. I don't think you can even begin to understand just how many of us will always be here to support you. I knew he had feelings for you since the night at the bus stop; it was only a matter of time before he came to his senses and admitted it to himself. You became family to me even before you even knew it. So although I can be a dumbass, I will always be here for you." Emmett promised.

I couldn't help the tears in my eyes, his declaration was mind-boggling. How in the world did I ever have the good fortune to end up here surrounded by these amazing people? These celebrities who I had managed to lump in the same category as Lauren Mallory before this trip had shown more compassion for me then so called "normal" people.

"Thank you Emmett, you have no idea what that means to me." He stood up, and pulled me up and wrapped his huge bear like arms around me.

I don't know why I asked what I did but I couldn't contain myself, "So Emmett you really going to settle down someday and plan on spanking that poor girl, whomever she may be?"

Emmett laughed, "Well apparently that's the plan, when Edward first introduced me to this whole idea it was a tad unsettling but if you really knew just how much was involved the spanking really is such a small part of the picture."

"So do you like get together and plan seminars?" I joked.

"Something like that." Emmett had answered truthfully, a little too truthful, it had my mind racing. Emmett would go on to meet the woman he was to spend the rest of his life with and let's just say that Rosalie Hale made me look like a saint the first time he tried to punish her.

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I was never happier to have Angela visiting, then that day. While I was up on the roof with Emmett, Angela had thankfully taken on the task to tell Edward and the others the details of my past. When Emmett and I had arrived back downstairs Edward just came up and hugged me and didn't say anything more than "I love you."

Angela and I had spread out maps and guidebooks on the kitchen table in hopes of planning out her stay. Of course I was still planning on working the next week, but Angela said she would come with us to Rome and go explore on her own. Of course you could see Edward fighting with himself, I knew he was dying to lay down rules for her but knew he had no jurisdiction. Thankfully Alice told Angela that she and Esme would love to accompany her if she wouldn't mind. Which she didn't.

We wanted to go to Sienna for the day, and the weekend after we were planning on staying in Florence. Edward made a phone call straightaway to the Four Seasons to book our rooms; he was planning on traveling up after filming on Friday and stay with us until Monday morning taking the train back down to Rome. I told him that he needed to be on his best behavior and make sure to keep his hands to himself when we were in public, I was a little nervous to be traveling with all this star power. Somehow I had visions of screaming girls chasing us through the streets of Florence.

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Angela and I had the best time seeing Italy even with our chaperones in tow. Unfortunately she was supposed to be leaving tomorrow. I had secretly hoped that she'd stay for Christmas, but I knew she had family to get home to.

We were having dinner the night before Angela's flight when Edward made an announcement. "Bella, there is something that Angela and I have been discussing the past couple of days." Oh no, this can't be good.

"I have talked Angela into staying until the 23rd." I must have looked confused so she was staying two extra days?

"Ok?" I looked at her and she had the biggest smile on her face.

"She is staying because I have bought you a ticket to join her. I want you to go home and spend Christmas with your parents." He said genuinely.

"What? Are you serious?" My eyes started swimming.

"Yes, honey. We end filming tomorrow and I know how much this means to you. I booked you a return ticket for the 28th in hopes that you will spend New Year's with me."

Our last day of filming in Rome was tomorrow but then they were going to be filming just two days more in Venice after the first of the year. I couldn't believe what I was hearing; I stood up and wrapped my arms around Edward. "Thank you. Thank you." I cried. He gave me a big kiss and said, "Anything for you, my love."

"Oh you guys are just so cute together." Angela cooed.

"Well I know you both will be spending the majority of your time with your families, so I am hoping that I don't have to warn you to be good." Edward raised his eyebrow at me.

"Yeah, be sure to tell that to cougar town over here. The last time we went out she hit on a high schooler." I giggled.

Angela narrowed her eyes at me, "Whatever grave robber."

Edwards jaw dropped, "I'm offended, I can't believe you just said that. I'm not old, people." I couldn't help but laugh.

Edward turned back to me, "But I am serious, please be safe and make smart choices. I will not be happy if I find out you've done otherwise."

"Oh no! Not happy with me? How ever will you learn to live with these new feelings?" I mocked.

"Isabella…" he started.

"Calm down Edward, you think that I make it my mission in life to keep you on edge." I quipped.

"Don't you?" he inquired.

I made a face and he laughed. He didn't know just how good he had it.


	19. CHAPTER NINETEEN

It was the last day of filming in Rome, most of the crew would be going home after today. Venice was going to have minimal crew since it was only a two-day shoot at one location. It felt like high school everyone stopping to say their goodbyes and wish the best in the future; the only difference was people were actually including me in on it.

The scenes set for today were short, mainly because Emmett wanted to hold this big cast and crew lunch to thank everyone for their hard work. During the day they handed out ballots. Emmett was known on his films for handing out silly awards. Some of the categories this time included, most likely to screw up the Italian language, Miss/Mr. Congeniality, and best excuse for tardiness. It was all in good fun and people didn't care whether they actually won as long as the alcohol was free at the party.

Everyone came from the house that day for the party. Angela was excited to be included and she found the filming process fascinating. Emmett and Edward rented out a local restaurant and paid for the entire party themselves.

I could see Edward sitting in the corner with the gang; I had chosen to sit among the rest of the crew. This would be the last time for a while that I would see them and I was thankful for everything I've learned. I saw Carl sitting by himself so I sat with him, Angela followed. Eventually Magda sat with us, Kenny and Tommy followed. It had become a wide array of people from all different occupations.

"Alright, alright can I have everyone's attention?" Emmett's booming voice could be heard from across a field at a packed stadium.

"I hope you all are enjoying the meal and free booze." Emmett joked.

People started cheering. "I just wanted to say thank you on behalf of E=mc2 Productions and Warner Bros. for all your hard work, I know that some days were hell but everyone really rose above. I've worked with many of you before, and some of you this was for the first time. I sincerely think everyone did awesome work and I would be honored to work with you again. Now enough with this mushy crap lets hand out some awards." Everyone laughed and started banging their glasses.

"The award for M.I.A. goes to...Tommy! Great job on craft service Tommy but why the hell were my red vines always missing in action?" Emmett laughed. Tommy got up and started fist pumping, Emmett presented him with a large cowbell and told him this way they can always find him.

The awards continued on there were only five it total but with a speech from Emmett and a speech sometimes from the recipient it took awhile.

"Let's see Mister or Miss Congeniality, well I will give you a hint, it's a girl and well, let's just say she liked to get around…" Emmett said suggestively. "with different jobs. Calm down, I'm just kidding but I will say that you all did a great job on voting for this person because she truly deserves it. I am happy to present this award to our little firecracker, Bella Swan."

I snapped my head so fast to where Emmett was standing; this had to be a joke. I could feel people at my table patting my back and some people were even yelling, "Go Bella!" I slowly stood up still in a fog of shock.

I felt like I could have just won Prom Queen. I walked up to where Emmett was and he gave me a huge hug. "You deserve it!" He said as he released me. He adorned me with a sash that Magda must have made with Miss Congeniality plastered across it. It was horribly ostentatious but I adored it.

"Wow I, I don't really know what to say. I know that this is just some silly award but I wish you could feel just what this means to me. For so long I just wanted to belong and this was the first time where everyone made me feel important enough to even be thought of. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to understand and appreciate everything that you all do every day. I hope that one day I can return the favor and help you out as much as you've helped me. Thank you!"

I started to walk back to my table and people were raising a glass and cheering me as I went. I looked over to Edward's table and he smiled at me and rose a glass.

The party lasted for about an hour longer, and we all parted giving hugs and shaking hands. I knew I needed to get home to pack; my flight was leaving at nine am the next morning. Edward asked me to just pack one small bag; he said I would be more tempted to return to him if I left the majority of my belongings in Italy.

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I was starting to get nervous, I was excited to go home and see my family in fact I hadn't even told them because I wanted to surprise them. On the other hand I was going to miss Edward; it felt like part of me was going to be incomplete.

I decided that before I left I was going to talk Edward into having sex. I knew I was ready to make love to him and it may be stupid but I thought there was a good chance that I would leave and Edward may realize that his life was better off without me. I knew that if that happened I would never be able to love anyone as much as I loved him and I wanted to be made loved to at least once in my life.

I think he already started feeling the loss, that night his kisses were frantic and desperate. I kissed him back with everything in me; we both shed our clothes quickly and started exploring each other's bodies. I pushed him on his back and I climbed on top of him, I started rubbing my moist pussy lightly over his harden cock while kissing him roughly.

I sat up feeling the tip pushed up against my opening. "I love you Edward, there will never be anyone for me except you."

He eyes held his love for me as he whispered, "I love you Isabella Swan." I slowly started to lower myself on him; I could feel the pain and pressure of him starting to stretch me instantly. I had just managed to get the head in when Edward pulled me off. "What are you doing?" he asked. I was lying on my back and he hovered over me almost looking frightened.

"I'm ready Edward; I love you more than anything. I want to make love; I want you to be my first." I said with conviction.

"Bella, this isn't the right time." He sadly shook his head my insides felt like they were shutting down.

"I don't understand, how can this not be the right time? When you love a person any time is the right time. Why won't you make love to me, Edward?" He could see me losing it.

"Honey, you're about to leave, there are a thousand reasons why this is not the right time."

"Name three." I demanded.

"Bella" Edward said exasperated.

"Don't Bella me. Why do you keep rejecting me? You say you love me but you don't want to make love to me. You say you want to be with me, but you don't want to be with me. Is this some kind of game to you? Do you really love me?" I implored.

"How can you ask me that? Of course I love you, it's because I love you that I don't ever want to rush things with you. You want three reasons. Number one. I don't know how you are physically going to handle this. Right now you are in pain when I just use two fingers in you. Do you really want to have to sit on a plane all day long tomorrow in pain?" He was working himself into a frenzy.

"Number two. You're leaving, what if we make love and it doesn't go well. I know you, instead of telling me that there is a problem, you will just hid it from me and then you will be seven thousand miles away and there will be nothing I can do about it. Number three. I want to know from you why now? I know you have tried for various reasons to push yourself into this but all of your reasons up until now have not been the right answer. So I want you to tell me the truth, Isabella what is your reason now?"

I looked away, oh god he was right. My reason wasn't right. I knew if I told him why I wanted this now it wouldn't go well. So instead of facing him and his interrogation I picked myself up from off his bed and huffed, "You know what never mind, I going to sleep somewhere else." Anger is usually a good deflection.

He was instantly up and blocking my exit. "Absolutely not! You are not leaving here. We are going to talk this out because that is what grownups do when they are in a relationship and like I said you will tell me what your reason is." Ok his anger was much scarier than mine.

I stood there silently, my anger slowly morphing into sadness. I would never feel the ultimate physical connection with this man. There would always be a reason that would stop him because I finally understood something about myself. I couldn't find it in me to ever be enough for him. I love him with every fiber of myself but how do I allow myself to believe that he loves me as much as I love him.

I backed into the bed, slid to the floor and broke down, "I want to be made loved to just once. I know that I will never love anyone the way I love you. I wanted to know what it was like to have that person whom I love so much be my first. Tomorrow I am going to go home and there is a chance that this time apart from each other will bring you clarity. I may come back and find that my one chance will have passed me by. I know you're going to say, of course not Bella, I will be here waiting with roses and bells on. But there will be something that happens in the next few days to change your mind and I will have lost my chance."

Edward walked over to his end table, picked something out of his drawer and walked back to where I sat. He sat down on the floor beside me and handed me a small box, "I was planning on giving this to you tomorrow, before you left. It was supposed to be your Christmas gift. I don't want you to get too excited or scared depending on how you may feel. It's not an engagement ring, when I propose to you the whole world will know. Open it."

My heart was fluttering. I slowly opened the tiny velvet box, nestled inside was a silver ring it had two different bands of stones woven in and out of each other the whole way around the ring.

"I know that it's silly for a man of my age to give you a promise ring, but I needed to do this for both of our sanities. I know that you are the one for me; I know that there is no one in this world that makes me as happy as you have. I am making you a promise Isabella Swan. This ring is a promise that I will always love you more than my own life and that I will try to make you happy every single day of it. One day I will replace it with a different ring and that ring will hold the same promise as this one but I know that it is too early for that because before that can happen I need you to believe every word out of my mouth. I want you to really consider your love for me before you accept this ring, because it is a promise from you as well. When you wear this ring it is a promise to me that you will love me, trust me and be faithful to me and I in turn promise this as well."

I soaked in all his affirmations. He really did truly love me. I had no idea why he had chosen me but he had. I picked up the ring and slid it on my ring finger. I looked at him with watery eyes and all, "I promise."

He pulled me onto his lap and gave me one hell of a kiss, I couldn't help but giggle. He smiled and said, "You make me so incredibly happy, I love you so so much. These next few days are going to be hell." He intertwined his hand with mine and looked down at the ring. "I had this ring custom-made; I wanted the two bands to have our birthstones. One band of Sapphires intertwined with one band of Alexandrite."

"Well its beautiful, and since we are handing out gifts, I have one for you." I reached over to my end table and pulled out the large square present that had been hidden underneath. One night when Edward and I were up playing twenty questions I had asked him, what was one thing he had lost or given up that he regretted?

Edward opened the gift and froze, staring at it in shock. "How did you find this?" Edward's mother had died a couple of years back; she was a famous singer back in the early sixties. She had released a limited number of copies of her first album which debuted in 1961. Edward in his early twenties didn't seem to think it was all that important and gave it away to good will. Something, which at the time upset his mother deeply.

"I spent a couple of weeks on the internet trying to track one down. I found this older gentleman living in New York that still had his copy. I apologize but I told him that it was for you, and he thought that it was important for you to have so he sent his copy over. I thought maybe you could write him back a thank you."

"You are an incredible woman, Bella Swan. You have no idea how much this means to me. I love you."

"As I love you." I replied honestly.

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The drive to the airport was too short the next morning. Angela was kind enough to step out of the car and let Edward and I have a few last moments to ourselves which was mostly filled with making out. I had told Edward that he needed to stay in the car; I couldn't risk the paparazzi seeing us.

Edward asked Angela to look after me, to which I made a face, if he really knew Angela he should have asked me to keep an eye out for her.

Edwards's car didn't leave until we were at the ticket counter; we had to check in our luggage.

"Alright Miss Swan and Miss Weber, you will be leaving out of gate 23. You are more than free to use the first class lounge until your flight." The lady at the ticket counter handed us our tickets giving us a polite smile.

"There must be some mistake, we have coach tickets." I tried to explain.

The lady looked at her screen, "it seems the tickets were upgraded to first class."

Angela squealed, "I love your boyfriend." She grabbed the tickets and started to take off. I loved my boyfriend too but he would definitely be hearing from me.

I do have to admit, first class was appealing; however it still came in a far second to Edwards's plane.

As the plane touched down, announcing our arrival to L.A.X. I couldn't help but feel like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman as she decides to leave Richard Gere. I was happy to be home but for the first time in my life I knew what it felt like to have my heart 7,000 miles away. All I needed now was "It Must Have Been Love" playing in the background.


	20. CHAPTER TWENTY

We arrived back at our apartment to find a gentleman sitting on our porch. Angela upon seeing the man whispered to me out of the side of her mouth, "Merry Christmas to me."

"Is one of you a Miss Angela Webber?" Wow maybe he was some kind of Christmas gift.

"I'm Angela." She said as she blushed.

"I have a delivery for you Miss Weber." He pointed down to the truck sitting in the parking lot. My god what in the hell had she been sent.

"What is it?" she asked tentatively.

"I was given instructions to help you set up your new Isoform mattress and bed set." Oh no he didn't. Angela looked at me in shock and then got a giddy smile on her face. "Well then right this way." She said as she bounced along to the apartment.

First class plane tickets. A brand new bed. Yes Mr. Cullen and I were definitely going to have words.

I set my stuff down in my room and flopped down on my bed after locating my cell phone. It barely rang once before his beautiful voice wrapped around me.

"Hello my love, I see you arrived home safely." He purred.

"I did, I would like to say thank you for the upgrade in tickets however that was highly unnecessary and I'm sure Angela would love to thank you for her new bed which is equally grandiose, but she is currently having a tad bit too much fun showing the poor delivery man her womanly wiles."

"Oh honey, this is merely the beginning, no need to waste your energy now. You will eventually learn to love being spoiled." He was so matter of fact that it kind of annoyed me.

"Oh sweetheart maybe you should just learn now that I do not plan on accepting anymore overly extravagant spoils. The bed is Angela's and I would never ask her to not accept it but I really need you to make an effort to not go so over the top in the future. And I plan on exchanging my first class return ticket for a seat in coach." So there.

"Bella why do you always have to be so difficult, you need to learn to just say thank you love of my life, when you treat me like the princess I am, it is then I feel your never-ending love for me." He was being dramatic.

"You know what Edward, it is a good thing you have such great screenwriters. If I were you I'd stick to acting."

He laughed and that was then end of that. I still had planned on switching my ticket; I needed him to understand that he didn't need to buy me gifts to have my love. We finished our phone call and I quickly packed a bag for my parents' house. I couldn't wait to see the look on their face when I walked through the door.

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It was late Sunday evening, I was sure I was going to give my parents a fright coming home at this hour but I didn't want to wait until the next day. My parents lived in a suburb fifty miles out from Los Angeles, where my apartment was. Angela being the amazing dear she was, dropped me off; her parents lived out further than mine so at least it wasn't too inconvenient. By the time I arrived it was eleven pm and I was beat.

I rang the doorbell and I could immediately hear my parents bickering as to who would be here at this hour. As soon as the door opened my dad's jaw dropped and his eyes started to water. He had a difficult time with his emotions since my sister's death; now at days he would start to cry at the smallest things. My mom who had been standing behind him started screaming and pushed my dad aside throwing her arms around me.

"Yes the prodigal daughter has returned." I joked. I hugged my dad next.

"What are you doing here?" my mom cried out.

"Why? Would you like me to leave?" I kidded.

"Oh no no no, this is just the best Christmas gift ever." We walked into the living room and sat down, the nightly news playing in the back ground.

"Well you can thank my boss; he knew how important it was for me to come home for Christmas. I have to return on the twenty-eighth though, they still have more filming." I knew I should tell my parents about Edward and me but it didn't feel like something I should drop on them at Christmas. Also knowing my father, he would instantly start to wonder if Edward had laid a hand on me and I couldn't have him running off to Italy with a shot-gun in hand.

We spent an hour talking when I told them that I was exhausted and needed some sleep. I promised my mom that I would go with her the next morning to tackle the mall. Leave it to her to wait until Christmas Eve to buy gifts.

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The next morning I slept in till ten-thirty, my mom came in and told me I needed to hurry we had a long day ahead of us. After a quick shower, I emailed Edward a brief message letting him know what I was planning on doing for the day and that I would call him later.

Of course the mall parking lot was treacherous my mom had managed to pick a fight with two different people within a manner of minutes over parking spot rules of etiquette. She split her list in two handing me three different items she needed me to pick up and with that we went two separate ways.

I had just bought the beer cooler she asked me to get for dad when I saw a store called Spenser's Gifts. I still hadn't found anything for Emmett and being the prankster he was I thought maybe I'd find the perfect gift in there. Spenser's Gifts was a novelty shop that had well just about everything. I was walking around when I ran into their how should we say erotica displays. I meant it when I said they had just about everything. At first I started to turn around but then something caught my eye.

In those next few moments, an idea sprung to mind as I looked upon a shiny pink vibrator. I don't know why but I looked around almost afraid that someone was watching me. Call me one crazy virgin but sometimes we do things that seem completely ridiculous but in our heads they make sense. If Edward wasn't going to pop my cherry then I'd have to literally take matters into my own hands. Maybe then he would get over this fear he must have.

I nervously made my way over to the cashier who instantly gave me a smile and raised eyebrow. Oh my god this was more embarrassing than buying pads. I paid cash stupidly concerned that Edward might find out otherwise. I threw the bag in my purse and hightailed it out of the store.

I think I may have been a tad flushed when I ran into my mother, but I shook her off with the excuse of there being too many people.

As soon as we got home I ran upstairs and through the pleasure stick in my closet, almost afraid that it would turn on any moment. I was staring at the closet door when my phone rang; I just about jumped a mile in the air. It was Edward. Oh god what if he found out. Silly Bella he's not going to find out.

"Hello" I answered shaky.

"Baby, you sound funny, what's going on." Man even when I'm seven thousand miles away he can already tell I'm up to no good.

"Nothing I just ran a flight of stairs so I'm a little out of breath." I giggled uneasy.

"Okay, well how was the mall?"

"Why do you want to know?" I may have said that a bit accusatory.

"I was just asking, are you sure everything is okay honey?" Pull it together Bella stop being such a spaz.

"I'm sorry, my nerves are almost shot, it was crazy at the mall. I didn't mean to take it out on you. I love you, Edward." I calmed myself down. After that we managed a fairly easy-going conversation until I needed to head down to dinner to which we said our good byes and I love you's.

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Christmas had come; we had celebrated with having a couple of family members join us. I handed out gifts to my parents, souvenirs I had picked up in Italy. The cherry popper as I had come to call it still rested in my closet. Somehow it seemed wrong to use it on Christmas.

I waited for my parents to go to sleep and read up on properly sanitizing my new "friend" It was eleven thirty on December 26th. I sat there on my bed just staring at the cherry popper, my hands were shaking. I needed to talk to Edward; I needed to hear his voice.

It was almost eight am in Rome and when he answered, it was obvious that I had woken him up.

"Honey, isn't it really late shouldn't you be in bed?"

"I know I just needed to hear your voice. I'm laying here all by myself and I am missing you like crazy." I sounded desperate.

"Baby you'll be home soon, I miss you too. I have gotten so used to you lying beside me that this was the first time in days that I managed to get to sleep. I love you, Bella."

"I love you too, I miss your hands roaming all over my body, I miss you mouth sucking and biting on my nipples." Was I initiating phone sex? This actually might work.

"Mmm I miss that too." He was getting into it.

"Please tell me you're hard Edward." I picked up the cherry popper and started rubbing my clit.

"Only you can do this to my cock, are you wet baby?"

"Yes, I bought something that may help me out." I said shyly.

It was like you could hear a record scratch to a halt. "What do you mean?" Edward's voice rose.

I was suddenly scared to answer.

"Isabella!" he called. I stayed silent, like I was waiting for the T-rex to pass me by.

"Answer me, Isabella." With every call, his voice got more and more intense.

"I bought a vibrator, what's wrong with that?" I asked meekly.

"Why would you do that?" He questioned harshly.

I gulped. I was never happier to know that there was seven thousand miles separating us then in that moment. Blame it on distance for my bravery.

"I bought it so that I could de-virgin myself so then maybe you wouldn't be so hung up on that factor. Once it's over you can't keep giving me excuses."

"Isabella, if you value your ability to sit down, I suggest that you throw it away right now." He warned.

Did I say bravery? I meant stupidity.

"I'm not going to throw it away, I have made a decision and I am prepared to live with the consequences whatever they may be. And who knows maybe you'll thank me for this."

"Isabella, I don't think you are prepared to live with the consequences. First of all, you may break your hymen, but that doesn't mean you're not a virgin anymore. Women break their hymens every day during normal actions. It doesn't matter to me whether or not your hymen is or isn't in tack. You have not been with a man and I still plan on being the first and last. Secondly there will never be a time in our relationship when I feel that it is acceptable for you to insert foreign objects into your body for the sake of sex or pleasure. That being said if you do not do as you are told then I promise you the next time we see each other I will spank your ass so hard that you won't sit for a week and then after that week is up I will do it again just for good measure."

Cherry popper suddenly didn't look too friendly.

"But this isn't fair; you will never make love to me. You put my virginity on this stupid pedestal and you deny me over and over the one thing I want." I started to cry. I wasn't sure if it was because it felt like this man was never going to make love to me or if it was the fact that I was pretty sure our impeding reunion would not go so well for me.

"Bella it will happen, but not like this. Not with some piece of plastic. Throw it away honey." He seemed calmer.

"Okay." I sniffled. I heard him sigh into the phone. I picked up ex-cherry popper and tossed her to the ground I would have to throw out the trash tomorrow.

"So on a scale of one to ten, how much trouble am I in?" I had to know.

"It's bad baby. Go to sleep, I'll call you in the morning." He sounded so exhausted. I was exhausted to but I was also afraid.

"Do you still love me?"

"Yes baby, of course I still love you. Go to bed." I said okay and he hung up. I now felt even worse, it seemed like he was so disappointed he couldn't even talk to me. I cried myself asleep, hoping that he would be better in the morning.

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I slept in till noon the next day; my bed had always been like a sanctuary for me. A safe place where no harm would come to me. I finally managed to get up and shower. I knew I needed to call Edward, but I was too nervous. I didn't have long to be nervous, Edward's name buzzing on my phone alerted me.

"Hello" I answered.

"Good morning honey." Oh good I was still his honey.

"Good morning." I think he sensed that for the time being he was only going to get one or two-word replies out of me so he took charge.

"Baby, I am very disappointed in you and your actions last night, but I want to discuss that with you later. Right now I need you to do me a favor and go to my house, there is an envelope with paperwork that I need you to fax me. It's in my upstairs office."

"Edward, I don't have a car, and I've never been to your house, I don't even have a key."

"I sent a car for you, this is highly important. I put a key on your key ring before you left. I wanted you to have it if there was an emergency. My address is 124 Beverly Park Circle, Beverly Hills. Call me when you get there so I can walk you through."

"Okay." I said confused.

"Thank you sweetie." With that he hung up.

I don't know why but it made me uneasy going into his house. I mean yea we were in love, but I had never even stepped foot on the property before. Of course my mother was all a twitter about how Edward Cullen movie star sent a car to pick me up.

When I arrived at the vast iron gate, I called Edward to get the code to let the driver and myself in. Thankfully he picked up on the first ring.

"I don't have the gate code."

"Its 0914" I punched in the code and the gates began to part. We drove up the long driveway, if I thought his house in Italy was impressive this just shadowed it. It felt monstrous; it had four high columns and stretched out with huge ground to roof windows. I think the reality of my future just set in and I was overwhelmed. I said a polite thank you to the driver and made my trek up to the daunting impressive door.

I put the key in the lock and opened the door to a cascading staircase, looking up I saw this beautiful stained glass dome overhead that shed in the light from the outdoors. I felt like Bell exploring the castle in Beauty and the Beast, it wasn't until Edwards's voice spoke that broke me from my wonderment. Oh that's right he was still on the phone.

"Bella, go up the stairs, go to the door on you far right." I did as I was told. I opened the door to huge master bedroom that might have impressed me if I didn't see what was waiting for me.

Edward walked forward and my heart stopped.

"What are you doing here?" I gasped.

"I came here to punish you." He was so calm it was scary.

"Are you crazy, you flew seven thousand miles to punish me?" My voice may have screeched slightly.

"It's actually only sixty-three hundred miles." He corrected me, " and it wouldn't matter if it was ten thousand miles I would come because I want to make it clear to you that no matter how far away I may be I will always be ready to correct your actions. I will always be here when you need me."

He crossed to the bench in front of the bed and sat down, waiting.

"So that's the only reason you came, for your pound of flesh." I accused.

"No that is not the only reason, but I will not continue until this is done. Come here."

Just like the first time I couldn't find my legs to make them move toward him.

"I am not coming to get you this time, and the longer you stand there the more upset I will be and the worse it will be for you." I walked slowly over to him and started to try to place myself for my impending doom. He stopped me, standing me in front of him. He began to unbutton my jeans and pull them down with my underwear. If I had been standing here for any other reason I might have been turned on. But alas this action just scared me more.

He placed me in position my pasty white ass on display for the world. "Isabella, why are you in this position?" he asked.

"Oh come on already, now I have to give you a dissertation too." I really needed to learn to control my mouth he began raining down harsh smacks. "I will continue until you answer me properly." My own stubbornness held me there, until it hurt so much I had no choice but to give in.

"Alright, Alright." I gasped out. He paused. "I…" I was confused. Just why again was I in trouble. "I don't know why I'm in this position honestly. I bought a product from a reputable store, a product I might add that many women and even some men have used throughout the creation of said products birth and yes I did plan on using this product as consumers often do with products they buy. However when my boyfriend expressed concern for product, I threw the offending product away. So no I don't see what exactly it is that I have to be sorry for."

Edward laid a hand on my ass, I immediately tensed. "What was your reason to buy said product?"

Oh crap that's right. I couldn't help myself, I knew I was about to regret it but I couldn't stop the words from tumbling out of my mouth, "Cherry popper had decided to man up and finish the job you started."

Oh crap instant regret. "Really so you feel that a piece of plastic will give you the pleasure you seem so desperate for?"

"I'm sorry, I was out of line, and I didn't mean it. But you're not exactly helping matters here with your constant refusal. Do you know what that does to a girl with already low self-esteem to constantly be shot down by her sexually advanced boyfriend?" I accused.

What he did next had me reeling, he took a finger and pushed it inside me, and he brought it out again and pushed it back then he added two fingers I let out a yelp it hurt worse than the spanking. Then he added three, I cried out, "Oww stop. Stop" He instantly removed his fingers. "That is why I haven't taken your virginity. My body sagged and I started to sob. What was wrong with me, there had to be something wrong.

He picked me up and held me to his chest. "I wanted to wait to come back to the states so you could see my doctor. Bella, since the first time I put two fingers in you I knew there was something amiss. If I had just greedily took what I wanted from you, you would have been in horrible pain. Do you think I want you to be in pain when we make love? I have tried to pleasure you in every other way, but your stubbornness has been my undoing. After last night I knew I couldn't wait any longer, because you were turning to drastic measures. I called the doctor from Italy and she is coming over first thing in the morning to examine you. I have been talking with her and she is pretty sure she knows what the issue is."

"I've never been fully examined before, Edward. I don't think I'm going to like some stranger rooting around in my who-ha."

"It will be ok, I will be with you the whole time if you like." He kissed me on the forehead.

"What happens if there is something really wrong and I can never have sex?"

"Bella, stop freaking yourself out. Whatever the issue, we will work on it together."

I called my mom to let her know that my errands ran long and that I was planning on crashing in L.A. not a complete lie since technically Edward's house and my apartment just happen to share the same county. I was crazy scared for what this doctor was going to tell me tomorrow. Edward could feel my tension and tried all night to relieve it with distraction, it didn't work and finally he gave up and put me to bed. Of course sleeping wasn't easy, but Edward held me and rubbed my back until he could hear my soft snores.


	21. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Dr. Anne Smith arrived promptly at nine am the next morning, having slept terrible the night before it was a real chore for Edward to get me up and alert. Edward wanted me to do the exam in one of the seven other bedrooms. He didn't want it to be in the master bedroom just in case it didn't go well. He didn't say that but I could tell that's what he meant.

Edward assured me that Dr. Smith would keep this completely confidential and that she had dealt with different issues within the group for over fifteen years and there has never been a problem yet.

Dr. Smith looked to be in her late forties and I was trying not to think about how much her house call cost. She had her doctor's bag and set up the guest room with all her tools of torture. I hadn't even bothered changing from the shirt and boxers that Edward had lent me for the night before.

"Um don't you need like machines and all that to do an exam?" I asked wearily.

"No, just a few tools, any samples I collect I will take back to a lab and have them analyzed there. Now how about you remove your bottoms and put this sheet over you and lie down." She turned around and went back to prepping, I gave Edward a doubtful look he came over to me kissed me, "It's okay baby."

"I'm scared." I whispered.

"I'm right here." He pulled the boxers off and I stepped out. I laid down and he put the sheet over me. Somehow it seemed needless. Edward had obviously seem all I had going on down there and she wasn't exactly going to do this blindfolded so what was the point of the sheet.

Dr. Smith turned back around she placed my legs open and told me to relax. Really lady just how many people do you think it would take to look at your girly bits before you just relaxed. I gave Edward a look and he just petted my head. His hand was intertwined with mine and I'm sure I was giving it a workout with how hard I was squeezing.

I could feel her start the exam and that did very little for the relax suggestion she had just laid on me.

"Bella, all I am going to do is place this swab in you, nothing more today." I could feel her waving it around in there. I started to try to picture Edwards's fingers but then became worried that my juices would start flowing. She was in and out in less than a minute. Thank god. I pulled my pants back on straight away.

"Well, from what Edward has told me, I believe that you have a mild form of Vaginismus, which is something that we can work on. It is considered a psychological condition that occurs when there is vaginal penetration. Some reasons that women have suffered from Vaginismus is due to sexual trauma, a fear of pain even religious beliefs have played a factor. Essentially this reason whatever it may be causes the muscles in your vagina to tense up when the threat of penetration occurs."

"What can we do to remedy this? Like I discussed with you on the phone, Bella and I haven't had sex yet and I want to ensure when we do that I am not causing her pain." I was glad Edward was asking the questions, my mind was M.I.A. at the moment.

"They have a tool called dilators that vary in size that can be used to help the body get used to stretching the area. Fingers can also work."

"We can use fingers I don't like the idea of other objects." Edward interjected. I was starting to feel hot, like there was no air. I jumped up, "I can't talk about this. I…I… I have to go." Flustered I walked out as fast as possible and went down the winding staircase. I located the back door and found an oasis.

Edward's backyard was serene he had a large pool with grass and tall shade inviting tress all around. This is where I belonged. I went to sit down under the cabana on the lounge chair. I closed my eyes picturing Lake Bracciano.

It was chilly but my body couldn't even feel it. After some time Edward found me.

"You had me worried. But you don't have a car so I knew you couldn't have gone far." He sat down beside me.

"Bella, let's talk about this..."

"There's nothing to talk about Edward." I interrupted. "I'm not going to put you through this; I'm a mental case virgin who can't have sex with you."

"Stop that right now! You are not a mental case and so what if there is a small issue. We are going to fix this, so you can just stop all that nonsense this instant. Dr. Smith gave me some…"

I huffed and got up yelling, "I don't care what Dr. Smith said. I can't allow this…"

"Sit down!" Edward stood up and was pointing to the chair he wasn't planning on backing down. I stood there in defiance. "Isabella, sit down. You are going to listen to what I have to say." Edward didn't have to yell to be scary he could say something to you in the quietest voice and it would cause you to reconsider your whole life and confess every misdeed.

I flopped back down on the lounge chair facing away from him, he sat down behind me. "Like I was saying, Dr. Smith gave me some exercises both mental and physical, some of which we have already been practicing. Don't tell me that we can't get over this little hump. You have already proven to me that when you allow your body to relax there is no issue. You felt pain when I used two fingers but when I brought you close to orgasm your body relaxed and there was no issue with the two fingers. Like the Doctor said you have a mild form, even though the exam was uncomfortable it wasn't painful right? There are some women who have to go through years of therapy before they can even be examined. I know that we will be successful, but I think there is still a mental block that occurs when we are intimate that won't allow you to trust me. But we will work on it together; I don't care if I have to give you a thousand orgasms before we make love for your body to get used to mine and for you to trust me. It's a tough job but somehow I manage through."

I could tell that he was trying to be funny with that last part, and I sincerely loved how he was supporting me but some part of me still had misgivings, "Why won't you walk away, you've had girlfriends before that have caused you much less grief then I. You could have a normal life with someone else, I have no doubt that you could walk out your front door and stumble across a stranger that would give you a much easier life."

"I don't want easy, I choose love. And when you love a person it doesn't matter what hardships rise up on your road together. I would much rather have horrible days with you then a great day with anyone else. If I had a medical problem in the future would you abandon me even if I asked you to?"

Never. I could never let go of Edward. He may let go of me but my heart would always belong to him.

I shook my head and looked at him. "No." I whispered. He leaned forward and kissed me, what I am sure was supposed to be gentle quickly turned R rated. With a new resolve, I picked myself up and straddled his lap never breaking our connection. We were making out like a couple or horny teenagers. Well horny yes, teenagers not exactly. I laughed amused by my own inner monologue.

"How about we go practice?" Edward got this mischievous little smile on his face.

"There are so many rooms in your house, how ever will we find one that's just right." I kidded.

"Oh Bella, I'm going to make you cum in every single one of those rooms." I got up and he started chasing me into the house. He was a man on a mission. Even though we didn't make it to every room that day, Edward filled my day with orgasm after orgasm. There were a couple of times where it did hurt but the end result was well worth it. In fact I had a feeling that my nipples and happy mound were going to be the sore ones tomorrow.

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Dr. Smith had given Edward a prescription for birth control in case we needed it for the future. I was instantly in favor of it and made a special trip to the pharmacy to pick it up. Edward seemed to not appreciate my eagerness.

"Come on Edward, its not like I'm expecting to have sex next week. You shouldn't allow this little packet of pills to stress you out so much. Just because I am taking the pills doesn't mean I'm going to jump on your disco stick." I giggled to myself.

"It's not that Bella, of course I want to make love to you and I know that part of me will be happy to know that I won't have to use a condom. But I just don't know how I feel about…" He couldn't finish.

"Edward do you want me to get pregnant right now?" I asked skeptically.

"Well it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world."

"Have you lost your damn mind? Why on earth would you think that it could be a good idea? We aren't even married. We haven't even been dating a year yet. I haven't had the chance to explore the world. My career would be over before it started. My parents would flip their shit…"

"Calm down Bella. Wow alright we're not ready." He interrupted my rant. "Well maybe you're not." My eyes started widening. "And that's fine, I can wait too. Calm down." Edward instructed.

He could see my mind still running through a list of things I wanted to accomplish before I even thought of having kids. "Bella, stop freaking out." I let out a breath I was holding. And after that Edward was good to not bring the topic up again.

Edward begged me to introduce him to my parents, but I gave him the excuse that I wanted this time while I was home to be about them and I think this was a pretty big bombshell to drop on my parents just before taking off to Italy again. He finally let me go with a sad little puppy dog frown as we parted.

It was hard returning to my parents' house knowing that Edward was just a couple of miles away. I was also afraid that my mom and dad would be able to tell that I had been up to no good, but thankfully they didn't seem to notice. My lack of a social life in the past really did pay off in my favor.

My mom wanted to come with me to the airport but I knew that if she got one whiff of Edward it would be all over so after much discussion I finally was able to talk her into staying home. The car service picked me up and took me to Edward's house to go to the airport. I wasn't even able to kiss him hello. We both were able to keep the displays of affection at bay for the journey.

I thought we would be flying commercial, silly Bella why would this man ever fly commercial when he had his own plane. What about my ticket? I had taken the time to get it changed over to coach, which was easier said than done. The woman couldn't understand why I would be willing to give up a first class ticket. I may have gone into speech about the right to choose and the bill of rights, well it wasn't pretty.

Once again Edward manages to thwart my attempt. I looked over to see him smile triumphantly like he could read my mind and knew he had just won this round. I rolled my eyes and looked back out the window.

The second we boarded the plane and the pilot closed the cockpit door Edward and I were on each other like fat to my thighs. He pulled me back to his private room in the back of the plane and continued on with our practicing.

Edward did leave me alone after a while because he wanted me to get rest. I asked him to stay with me until I fell asleep and he complied. Flights went a lot faster when you weren't confined to a small area.

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It was nice to be able to return to Rome, I had no idea just how much I missed it. I knew that this would always be a favorite of Edward and I. You would have thought I was gone a year with the reception I received at the house. Alice pounced on me the second I arrived. Emmett asked if I really felt the need to bring Edward back with me. Both Esme and Carlisle gave me a tight hug wishing me happy holidays and even Jasper hugged me asking me to not leave for so long next time, Alice was apparently just a tad too crazy for Jasper to handle all by himself.

The train from Rome to Venice takes almost four hours; we got up early the next morning to set off. Everyone was going except Emmett; as much as we tried to talk him into coming when he heard that he would have the whole house to himself he already started plotting on who would warm his bed. Besides Venice was a romantic destination, he didn't want romance.

I was a little confused because we weren't planning on filming until the third of January so why did we need to leave now. But Edward and Alice said that Venice was a great place to ring in the New Year. I had never been more tempted to out ourselves as a couple till that trip. There is a reason that Venice is one of the cities known for its romantic appeal. I really wanted to be able to share a gondola ride with Edward but I knew we couldn't just yet.

Alice and Esme kidnapped me to their private room on the train and pushed the boys off to the other room. I was a little sad with this new development.

"Come on Bella, you're with Edward all the time. Can't you hang with us for a couple of hours?" Alice asked irritated. I guess she was right; I probably was becoming a tad bit clingy.

"Alright." I sat down and she handed me a Cosmo magazine.

"So how have you and Edward been getting along?" Alice asked suggestively.

"Fine." I wasn't going to play this game with her.

"Come on spill it Swan, how is Edward in the sack?" Alice had crazy eyes.

"I'm not talking to you about that, it's private." I continued flipping through the magazine not really reading it.

"We are girls, that's what we do. Right Esme. I know all about Carlisle's family jewels and she knows about Jaspers."

"Why do you care, do you secretly have a crush on my man and looking to trade up." I joked.

"Number one. Gross. Edward is like a brother to me. Number two I know that there have been some issues with you two I can sense it. Well that and Edward wouldn't have jumped a flight to L.A. for no reason. So Esme and I are here to offer you any advice you may need. Remember we have known Edward longer and may have an insight." I have to admit she did make a point.

"Bella you don't have to share with us if you don't want to." Esme kindly said.

I sighed and Alice got to the edge of her chair in anticipation. "Edward and I haven't had sex yet."

"WHAT?!" Alice bellowed.

"Alice, Calm the fuck shit down." I looked around embarrassed.

"How is that even possible, you two like share a bed and everything." Poor Alice she looked so cute when she was confused.

"I'm a virgin and we've been trying to wait."

She cringed, "Is this one of those religious things."

"No, it's one of those medical things." I was proud of myself for being able to confide in them with something so personal. Although I think my statement really confused the hell out of them.

"We have been having issues, when Edward touches me in a certain way I feel pain. So when we were in L.A. we saw a doctor and she diagnosed me with Vag..Vig…I can't even pronounce it. But essentially my mind controls my who-ha muscles and they start to clench when it feels penetration coming."

"My friend was diagnosed with the same thing, Bella. I'm sorry to hear that." Esme apologized.

"Well the doctor seems to think that it's something I can overcome, she gave us different things to do and so far it seems to be working but I don't know when we will be able to make love. It just sucks and it's frustrating and part of me is scared all the time that Edwards going to give up on me."

Alice came to my side and hugged me, "He won't, and I would be willing to stake my life on it. The boys all have this belief that once they have found the person they are meant to be with, they pledge their lives to that person. Edward would never desert you."

"Alice people who are in love break up every day." I countered.

"This is different, trust me."

"She's right Bella, the boys are different someday it will all be explained to you. Please take our word, now that we know that Edward has chosen you, he will do everything he can to always make you happy and make you feel loved." Esme added.

It was weird, a couple of times different people had mentioned to me this knowledge that someday would be passed on to me. Why was it such a big deal to not just tell me now? The rest of the train trip passed on with idle conversation after both Esme and Alice had assured me that they were here for me no matter the issue. It was nice to have such good people in my life.

Venice is something that every person should put on their travel list. It's the city built on water, Canals winding through, bridges connecting one part to another. It was very easy to get turned around there. We were staying at Hotel Danieli which was right next to the famous St. Marco's Square. The staff made it clear to us that they'd be happy to bend over backwards for any request we may have.

Edward booked a double room suite for us, so that the staff would think one room was for me and one room was for him. Inside the rooms they were adorned with Murano glass chandeliers and high ceilings with large opulent beds. Edwards's window looked out over the water and it was just starting to get dark enough where little lights lit the paved pathways.

Alice and Jasper went off the next day for a gondola ride and Carlisle and Esme headed off to the square. I was really jealous of both couples being able to spend their time together. I knew that the second I had decided to allow our relationship out in the open Edward would be the first one on board. But I still couldn't handle that. I knew that once we were out as a couple our lives would change and I was feeling mighty comfortable in our little bubble.

Edward and I spent the day in the suite ordering room service and watching old movies in Italian. Edward never complained about being on lock down, he made it out to be the best day ever even though I knew how much he was wishing that we could do romantic couple things outside of these walls. He always made sure to tell me he loved me over and over.

Our friends arrived back around six and we accompanied them to dinner, Edward and I always sure to keep our distance from one another. Tomorrow night was New Year's Eve and even though I was sure there was something planned for the big countdown, I was already deciding on a little countdown of my own to take place after the festivities.


End file.
